Nevertheless, after pacing the living room floor for a while, he found himself in the entryway. The cool night air poured through the open doorway as he stared into the darkness. He looked up first. He wasn’t checking on Rachel. Was just getting a breath of fresh air. No stars were visible. Not tonight. Too much haze. However, there was a fuzzy silver sliver of the moon hovering in the branches of the large eucalyptus tree. He heard the far-off yips of a pack of coyotes closing in on their prey, and Mick’s mind alighted on Rachel again. Hoping she wasn’t lost or in trouble. Finally, he let his gaze wander to the spot where she usually parked. It was empty. The windows of her apartment were dark. Odd the little things one gets used to. Mick hadn’t realized until that moment how much he liked seeing the apartment lit up. Sometimes her silhouette would pass by a window. It was comforting. Felt sort of like a hello-you-aren’t-alone-in-this-big-wide-world. Where the hell is she? He glanced at his watch. The Lakers game will have finished taping. Mick closed the front door, went into the kitchen, snagged a beer and a bag of salt-and-pepper kettle-cut potato chips, then continued on to the home theater.

A little after midnight, passing by the window on the way back to the kitchen, he saw her apartment lights were on. Mick felt the knot in his stomach loosen. She was home. Finally. He could stop worrying, would go to bed now and get some blasted sleep.

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