Mornings they woke to his clock radio, as they had when he was still working, though the alarm didn’t go off until seven now and occasionally Emily showered first, depending on her schedule, calling for him when she’d finished washing her hair. Their order varied, but not their routine. They got dressed and then took their pills. Whoever made it downstairs first let Rufus out and filled his dish, turned up the thermostat, opened the curtains and retrieved the paper from the front walk. Whoever was second made the bed and let the sun in around the upstairs.
They reconvened in the breakfast nook, eating with the local news on the little TV for the weather, trading sections of the paper and going over their plans. Since the demise of the Press, the Post-Gazette had noticeably shrunk, and while Emily made fun of its skimpiness, preferring the encyclopedic Times, Henry relied on the P-G to keep him informed of happenings around town. The day couldn’t start until he’d pored over each and every page, weighing the conflicting letters to the editor and skimming the obituaries for familiar names and faces, catching up on the box scores and his favorite comics just as he’d done when he had his own route. That it took only fifteen minutes was a bonus.
Another daily pleasure the paper afforded him was the horoscopes, tucked back among the classifieds. Though, like most people in the space program, he didn’t believe the stars capable of prophecy, it had become a ritual of his to check theirs—hers first—and when they fit his mood, like today’s, to read them aloud for her benefit.
“‘Aries: Get going while the going is good. There’s no obstacle that you can’t conquer or problem you can’t solve as your energy and enthusiasm will be in high gear this week.’”
“I’m afraid this is my high gear,” Emily said.
“‘Offering help to a friend in need will be effortless.’”
“I would hope that’s always true.”
“‘Virgo: Tighten your shoelaces and take big strides. Powerful minds can find ways to turn a problem into an asset.’”
“It sounds like we’re going to have a lot of problems.”
“‘Rather than blaming someone else for a mistake or error, find a way to turn it to your advantage.’”
“Using your powerful mind, no doubt.”
She had a second cup of coffee while he did the dishes, handing him her empty mug when she was done, and then, together, with Rufus leading the way, they went upstairs to brush their teeth, taking turns at the sink before splitting to start on their separate lists.
That afternoon, at the packed Home Depot, he was standing in line with a bouquet of wire stakes for the garden when he realized he’d forgotten to bring their empty propane tank. Instead of going home and grabbing it, he paid for another one and stood outside by the cages with the receipt, annoyed at himself, waiting for an orange-aproned associate, and then in the car thought it was a good move—overdue, really. This way when they ran out they’d have a backup. He’d turned his mistake into something positive, exactly as foretold by his horoscope, and would have been tickled, except by that time, like every day, he’d forgotten what it was.