The Blackout Read Free

unceremoniously gathered the fish with the net into a plastic bowl and flushed them, feeling like she should have said a few words or something.  But she was so irritated and tired by then she couldn’t come up with anything except, “thanks for ruining my night.” 
    It was nearly eleven o’clock by the time she went upstairs to get showered and ready for bed.  Her entire evening was wasted.  She didn’t get any of her papers read, and the students were expecting their grades tomorrow.  Plus she had a headache from crying, which hadn’t even made her feel better.  She rolled her eyes as she climbed into the shower, trying to wash the last four hours of irritation away.  Steam filled the bathroom and she sat on the shower floor until the water turned cold. 
    It was midnight by the time she’d brushed her teeth, dried her hair and climbed into bed.  Exhausted, she mustered the energy for a quick call to Gary.
    “Hey,” he said when he answered.
    “Hi.” 
    “So, you had an exciting evening.”
    She ran her fingers through Dug’s fur absentmindedly.  “Yup.” 
    “Didja get it all cleaned up?”
    “For the most part.  I can’t get the tank out of there though.  You’ll have to help me with it.”
    “I might be able to patch it.”
    “Uh…” She hesitated.  How could she express her feelings about cleaning up another mess without slighting her husband’s ability?  “We’ll have to talk about that when you get home.  How was your day?”  She hoped a change in subject would mask the potential for insult.
    “Fine.  Uneventful.  The passengers were late in Atlanta, so we missed lunch, thinking they were going to show up any minute.  Then, because they were late, we didn’t get to eat dinner until like seven.  It was obnoxious.”  Gary often missed meals waiting for people.  They had snacks on the airplane they could eat, so he wouldn’t starve, but peanut butter M&Ms are still a far cry from a meal when you’re hungry.
    “Oh, I’m sorry, babe.  Where to tomorrow?” 
    “Just Orlando.  It’s a one-leg kind of day, which is fine by me.” 
    She yawned.  “That sounds good.” 
    “OK, I’ll let you get some sleep.  Meeting in the lobby at seven tomorrow morning, so I should start heading in that direction too.”
    “OK, love you honey.” 
    “Love you too.  Talk to you tomorrow, and see you in five days!” 
    She smiled.   “Five days!  Night babe.” 
    “Night.”  He hung up.
    She put the phone on the nightstand and snuggled down into the covers.  Five days, she thought as she drifted off to sleep with Dug by her side, and Sally purring softly on her pillow.
     

3.
    After he hung up the phone with Molly, Gary went about getting a shower.  The hotel he was in was not as nice as some, but better than others.  The bathroom was small, the kind you could just about shit, shower and shave in while standing in the same spot.  That took its rating down a notch or two.  But it was just for a night, and it seemed fairly clean. 
    He got out his UV wand and sanitized the bed before climbing in.  He’d watched one of those specials about how dirty hotels were and was horrified.  Molly had warned him not to watch it.  She said what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him, but it was like a train wreck, and once he’d started watching it he couldn’t stop.  After that Gary had invested in a UV wand, and so had several of his friends when they were told about the horrors of the “organic substances” that could be found on a hotel comforter.
    It took him forever to fall asleep, as it usually did when he was away from home.  He missed his own bed.  He missed feeling Dug at his feet.  Most of all, though, he missed having Molly by his side.  Even though Gary spent a lot of nights alone, he’d never gotten used to it.
    He glanced at the clock and realized he only had a few hours left to get some sleep, and a long duty day ahead.  So he redoubled his efforts