Laurie had turned the bedroom lights on but for Jack’s benefit had kept them at their dimmest. Since she’d been on the computer in the fully illuminated study, it seemed exceptionally dark.

“Come on, dear,” she continued. “Wake up! We have to talk.”

Jack was on his side, facing Laurie. She had no idea how long he’d been asleep, maybe almost two hours. Their usual evening routine was a light dinner after Jack’s run on the basketball court. While they ate, they watched half a DVD for an hour or so, the rest the next night, before tidying up. At about nine they generally moved into their double study that looked out over 106th Street and the neighborhood basketball court and the rest of the small park that Jack had paid to have renovated and lighted. At about ten Jack would invariably begin yawning, give Laurie a peck on the top of her head, and supposedly retire to bed to read. But in reality, not much reading ever got done. No matter what time Laurie might poke her head in, he’d invariably be asleep, sometimes with a book or a medical journal precariously propped on his chest and his bedside light ablaze.

“Jack!” Laurie called again. She knew it was going to be hard to wake him, but she was determined. She began to nudge his upper shoulder until she was shaking it. Still, he stayed asleep. Laurie had to smile. His sleeping ability was of Olympic caliber. Although in some situations she could find it frustrating, generally she found it a trait to envy. Laurie was a light sleeper until the morning hours, when she had to get up. Then she slept soundly.

Laurie gave a final good shake to Jack’s stocky shoulder and called out his name sharply. One eye, then the other, popped open. “What time is it?” he asked in a gravelly voice.

“It’s around one-fifteen, I think. We need to talk. Something has come up.” Initially, after Laurie had gotten off the phone with Jennifer, she wasn’t going to bother Jack. She assumed he was asleep, as he proved to be. What she’d done was go on the Internet to learn what she could about traveling to India, and she’d learned a lot.

“Is the house on fire?” he asked, with his usual sarcasm.

“No! Be serious. We have to talk.”

“It can’t wait until morning?”

“I suppose it could,” Laurie admitted. “But I wanted to give you a heads-up. You’ve warned me you don’t like surprises. Especially big surprises.”

“Are you pregnant?”