Of all the pleasures she’d lost, her sweet tooth wasn’t one of them. Candy soothed her stomach. Andrew swore she was part insect, happy to live in a bag of sugar. Some days, it didn’t sound like such a bad idea. If insects couldn’t get autoimmune diseases, she’d sign right up. She’d already looked up the longest-living insects and decided she’d want to be a queen termite. They could live up to fifty years. If she turned into one now, that would take her to eighty-eight. She had far better prospects as an insect than a human. Plus, bonus, she’d be a queen!

“You don’t know that for sure,” she said.

“Pretty sure I do.”

“Can you please just get what’s on my list?”

“Which list? You’ve made about a hundred of them in the past two days. I’ll need to hire someone just to go shop for all the things you want,” he said irritably.

A stomach cramp made Kate’s eyes water.

Why was he standing outside the door like that? The last thing she wanted was for him to hear her pooping.

“Just go,” she said, holding back what was desperate to come out.

“I guess I’ll see you in three days. If I’m lucky.”

“Three days without you mumbling and cranky would be nice.”

There was a thump on the door and she heard him walk away. Or stalk away might have been more appropriate. He was a stickler about packing the car, and she was a little fuzzy when it came to spatial awareness, so getting prepared for trips always brought moments of tension. She wasn’t angry at Andrew (well, she was now, but she hadn’t been before this). Mostly, she was upset with herself and the inevitable illness that robbed her of what should be a fun, exciting time.

He returned later that night, his arms laden with bags, the expression on his face telling her he had only gotten more upset as the day wore on. They argued, as usual when things bubbled up like this, Kate taking the daybed for the night, both of them fuming. Kate was both angry at him for making such a big production of things, and herself for not being able to help. Did he think she liked making all these lists? She’d give anything to be able to go all over town and get everything herself.

The next day, Andrew extended the olive branch first, saying he was sorry and offering to make her breakfast. She accepted the apology and gave her own, but turned down the food. The thought of something even as bland as toast made her cringe. As the time drew near to journey to Maine, they both worried that she wouldn’t be able to make the trip.