I helped Grace put the dishes in the sink to be washed later, probably by me. I'd do them while she was at work. No problem.

Grace's back was facing me when she spoke, "Oh, before I forget. I'm working a little later today."

"Overtime."

"If you want to call it that. Maybe they'll be a dollar or two extra in the paycheck."

"You can still do better," I said.

"Least I've got something."

"Well, I still don't like it and never will."

"So you're saying my other job was better?" Grace turned around to face me. Her hands were on her hips.

I didn't like where all of this was headed and tried to head it off at the pass, saying, "Yes it was."

"You used to complain about that one too."

"That was a long time ago. It was a happier place too. Lots of toys and kids." I put on my hat and went out the door before Grace said anything. The day just started and already I was worn out.

I walked in, ordered my coffee and looked for my buddies. I was in time to see Sammy easing Carl into a seat at one of the window tables.

I kept my eyes closed. I knew that Grace had gotten up and was prowling around. Once she got a hold of something, she didn't let up. I don't know why she let a little bump get to her like that.

Then I heard her padding out of the bedroom. I hope that she didn't notice that a book was missing. In fact, I shoved the book under my pillow. I took it out from under my pillow and snuck it back into the closet. Read it some other time.

What I managed to read was very useful. It included a few imaginary scenarios and the wife was supposed to ask the husband what he thought. The way he answered was supposed to clue the wife in as to what her hubby was thinking.

I wondered if Grace was going to try any of that stuff on me. I don't know if she had read the book or not. But in case she did, I'd be ready for her. I'd have to be careful too.

Downstairs, I saw Grace bustling about and late in starting breakfast. I said 'Morning" as I entered and she said "morning" back. Then I went to the fridge for some grapefruit juice and grabbed a bowl for cold cereal. Grace asked me if I wanted any eggs and I said no, thanks, and sat down.

Grace looked disturbed. i thought that I'd ride it out before meeting with my friends as usual. But I was uncomfortable. It was Grace's glancing every so often at me. Like a cat and mouse game. If she asked me anything, I'd just tell her that I didn't know. It would be that simple.

Once I got back to bed and began to sleep, I had all kinds of weird dreams about that stupid bump. For some reason, the bump turned out to be Garry. I tossed and turned for a good part of the night, trying to shake those dreams.

The next morning, I was up long before the alarm clock went off. I eased myself bit by bit off the bed so as not to awaken Garry. He'd ask me what I was doing, same as the night before. After that, he'd blame my imagination. I just can't win with him being like that. But I've lived with him all these years and know his ways.

So I've found my slippers, got up and started looking around. It was fairly light in the bedroom, thanks to our large windows. I adjusted the shades too.

Something was wrong with the closet. Its door was partly open. I went to it and tried to close the door and heard another bump from inside. It startled me for a few seconds, but my curiosity won out over my fear and I pushed the closet door open. As soon as I did, my neatly stacked books tumbled down with a louder thump. I swore under my breath as I bent down and rearranged them.

Those books would have never tumbled from their neat stack unless they had been moved. I began to count them and found that sure enough, one was missing. It was a library book too. I didn't know its due date off hand. Well, that book had to be somewhere. I didn't remember taking it out of the closet. Where could it be?

I glanced back at the clock and noticed that I had at least an hour to find the book and get breakfast started. All during that time, Garry never stopped snoring. He lay still in the bed, snuggled up against the pillows. As long as he kept sleeping, I'd be all right. I started to look for the missing library book.

I usually sleep like I'm dead at night, but the loud bump in our bedroom made me jump. I sat up and rubbed my eyes, asking, What the... Then I felt Garry shifting position on the bed. I quickly put the light on.

"Wha..?" Garry was still half-asleep.

"I heard a bump."

"I didn't. Go to sleep."

"Not til I find out what happened," I said, sliding into a sitting position and getting my feet in slippers. I grabbed a flashlight and began my search. Garry snorted and sat up in bed and asked me what I was doing.

I told him, adding, "Suppose it's a burglar?"

"It's more like your imagination. And I'm tired. Go to sleep." Garry turned around in bed and began to snore.

Aside from his snoring, everything was quiet. It was late and I needed to get up early. So I went back to bed and after awhile, got back to sleep.

Well, today at work wasn't so bad. I was able to handle my calls well. I noticed that Mr. Terry eavesdropped less and less. The time passed quickly and at quitting time, I smiled at everyone and wished them a good night. I was that thrilled.

I wanted to share that with my husband. Convince him that the job wasn't what he thought it was. That he had no reason to be jealous, and why should he? I never saw the men that I spoke to over the phone.

The dining room light was on when I pulled in. Garry was probably watching television. It gave him something to do besides puttering around the house. I mean, he was good at fixing things, but for more difficult projects, I would just as soon call in a professional. I had to make Garry understand that.

When I opened the door, I greeted Garry and noticed that he was in a good mood too. That was perfect! I asked Garry if he had eaten anything yet and he said that he had. I asked him about his day and got a bored "fine" from him. I wished that I could draw him out more. When we were first married, we did some talking. Even then, he didn't have a lot to say.

But tonight, Garry did not only listen to how well my day went, he even showed his interest by asking a few questions, then said how much he'd appreciate it if I could get another job. I was going to tease him a little, but let it go.

As we talked, it seemed that Garry was genuinely interested in me. That made my day. When I told him that we should talk more, he agreed. He put his hand on mine and told me that this was something that we should have done a long time ago. I agreed.