It was light out when John Stallings finally woke up. He’d hit the sack after court about noon. The kids were in school, and Helen had taken Maria to a doctor’s appointment. He figured it was late in the afternoon and was surprised he felt good enough to sit up and think about dinner with the family. He had no clock near his bed from his days as a patrolman. If he had to sleep during the day after a midnight shift he found he could only do it with no clock around.

He padded to the bathroom and started to clean up. After he’d washed his face and changed into shorts and a T-shirt the bedroom door opened and Maria walked in. She sat at the edge of the bed until he quietly joined her.

He said, “I guess you heard what happened.” He held a secret hope she might be experiencing something like pride.

“You’re a hero again.”

“We stopped a killer.”

She didn’t respond.

“I was just coming down to see what was for dinner.”

Maria looked at him and asked, “What time do you think it is?”

He looked to his dark alarm clock. Stallings shrugged, “Late afternoon, I guess.”

“John, you’ve been asleep for twenty-two hours. It’s ten in the morning.”

“Holy crap, that’s why I feel so good.” He didn’t think he had ever been in a bed that long, even when he was sick.

“We need to talk.”

Stallings held up a hand. “I know I’ve been gone a lot, but now things will get back to normal.”

“What’s normal? Us not talking? You working weird hours? Working for days on end, then sleeping for days?”

He felt like this could be a result of her relapse and didn’t want to argue.

Maria said, “I know I have issues, but I’m working on them. You have no idea that it’s you too. You have issues.” She started to cry softly then said, “We need a break. You need to leave.”

“What are you talking about?” She sounded coherent, but the message didn’t make sense.

“Helen is going to stay with us, and you’re going to have to move out for a while. We have too much to work out right now.”

“Maria, I think you’re a little confused right now. Think about this.” He felt his stomach tighten.

“I have thought about it, and you’re the one who’s confused. You’ve been detached from the family. Working all the time to save other kids has made you neglect us. You think I’m not involved. You’re the one who’s off trying to run from memories of Jeanie. You’ve been living in some kind of fantasy world. Helen tried to tell you, but you wouldn’t listen.” She placed her hand on his arm. “I love you, I really do, but I have to think about the kids. You have to move out and work on these problems.”

He just stared at her; perhaps clearly for the first time. Was she right? Did he have it all turned around in his head?

John Stallings didn’t answer as he considered what she had said and what she wanted. It hurt as bad as any punch he’d ever taken or any injury he’d ever suffered.

This really was the day that changed the rest of his life, and he never even saw it coming.