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Tuesday - September 14

Claire awakes from the sunlight as it radiates brighter than usual through our bedroom window. She props herself up on her elbows to check the time: 7:30 a.m. Tossing the blankets back, she gets out of bed and goes to the window to see why it's so bright. "I can't believe it! The Sun! The beautiful, beautiful Sun!" she exclaims.

Eager to enjoy the day, Claire decides to embrace the warmth being generated by the heat of the bright yellow orb by venturing into the great outdoors. But her joy soon diminishes when she remembers that she has to meet Danielle at Wyler's at eleven o'clock. Continuing to stare out the window, she wonders if meeting a stranger will be dangerous for her and her baby. Her thoughts are soon disrupted when her phone rings.

Claire grabs her robe and rushes from the bedroom to try and locate her cell. She finally locates it next to the computer, but when she reaches for it, the ringing stops. She scrolls through her missed calls and notices that someone called at 3:00 a.m. Not recognizing the number, she wonders if she should dial it. Thinking that it might be important, she hits redial, but quickly hangs up and decides to call the other number instead; my number.

As she listens to my phone ring, Claire picks up the photo on the desk wondering how she's going to figure out who these other men are. My phone rings one more time, then voicemail intervenes. Claire leaves me a short message to call her back. When she finishes, she tosses her cell onto the kitchen table, runs her hands through her hair, mumbling, "Coffee. I need coffee."

Claire starts to make some coffee when her cell rings again. Not bothering to see who the caller is, she answers the phone. "Hello."

"Hey, baby, how are you? Did you sleep well?" I ask her.

Claire walks down the hallway to enter the living room and pulls back the drapes. When she finishes, she sits in the rocking chair glancing at the outside world. She replies, "I didn't sleep well at all. How can I sleep when you're not at home, John?"

"Claire, I love you. I love you so much. You and... you are the most important thing to me. You know that, right?"

"Of course I do, silly. What's wrong?" as she fixes her robe to cover her legs.

"There's nothing wrong. I'm just tired. I didn't get much sleep at all last night either. None of us did."

After a few nanoseconds of silence, I tell her, "Claire, I'm afraid I'm going to have to spend another night here; maybe two or three nights. Can you get someone to stay with you while I'm at work?"

"What's wrong, John?" she asks with a frightened tone.

"I can't say right now. But I really want someone to stay with you. Can you get Aunt Ruth to come over for a while?"

"I don't know. I'll have to call her and ask."

"Okay. Call her. Then let me know. If I don't answer, leave me a message. I'll try to call you when I can."

"Okay."

"Okay. Well, I need to get some breakfast and coffee, and then get back to the lab. Remember, call Aunt Ruth and let me know. I love you, Claire. I have to go now."

"I love you, too," she says, realizing that she's speaking to an empty line.

Claire tosses her cell onto the couch, and stares at the people meandering outside in the cold. She wishes that for once that her view had no people; just Mother Nature. Knowing that her wish would never come true, she grabs her cell and goes into the kitchen to make some breakfast.

Checking out the contents of the refrigerator, Claire tries to decide whether to have a "big boys' breakfast", as I call bacon and eggs, or just something much healthier like cereal with a piece of toast, since she is eating for two now. Deciding on the cereal and toast, Claire grabs the milk and sets it on the counter.