Five
I AWAKE THE NEXT MORNING to the aroma of really good coffee. Helen is still asleep and I ease off the couch and meet Anna in the kitchen, where she hands me a cup of sweet, creamy coffee, just the way I like it.
“Thank you,” I whisper as I take a sip of the nectar of life, one of God’s truly wonderful creations.
I mean, I couldn’t do what I do without coffee.
“How did you sleep?” Anna asks.
I twist my neck and grimace. “Not bad, actually, though I’m making notes that sleeping on the couch is not something I want to do on a regular basis.”
Anna smiles. “What about her?” she asks, nodding towards Helen.
I shake my head. “Fitfully, once I got her to sleep. She kept having nightmares. I’d wake up, comfort her, she’d go back to sleep.”
“So you really didn’t sleep well, did you?”
I
