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She sat before the mirror, combing her hands through her hair. She didn’t often have cause to fuss over her appearance these days, so she wanted to take advantage of the opportunity.
As she reached for her perfume, she heard a knock at the door. “Come in,” she said.
Her daughter came in. “Hi, Mummy,” she said. “What are you doing?”
“I’m just getting dressed. While you’re here, do you want to pick out some earrings for me?”
Daniel was at the bottom of the stairs, talking with the babysitter. The collar of a pale blue shirt poked out under a gray pea coat. She would have recognized that coat anywhere.
He turned and smiled at the sight of her – a warm, tender smile that always made her feel like the most loved woman in the world. It was the type of smile that she always returned.
They gave each other a kiss and headed out.
This would be a good night, Alma decided. He seemed to be in good spirits, and they were long overdue for an evening to themselves.
They walked to the restaurant arm in arm, Alma’s hand on the sleeve of his coat. It had been so long since she had seen him in it; she almost forgot how good he looked in it.
Once they were seated, Alma caught him up on things that happened while he was away – Jack’s visit (and his hope to visit again the next time he was given leave), their sons’ first few weeks of school, their daughter’s very first day of school.
“How was it?”
“It was good. She was happy to go, and she loves her teacher.”
“I’m sorry I missed it.”
She smiled sympathetically. Judith wished he could have been there, but there was no point in saying that. “Well, at least you’ll be here for her last day.”
He had noticed her doing that quite a bit since he came home – saying something practical to deflect anything too emotional. It was odd behavior for her, but if it helped her get through these last several months…
He reached across the table for his hand. “I’m proud of you, Alma.”
“For what?”
“I know this hasn’t been easy for you. You’ve had so much to worry about, so much to do without me. But you’ve been so strong, and if anything needs to be done you simply do it.”
It’s not like I’ve had a choice. But she wouldn’t say that out loud; no doubt he would refute that. So she thanked him quietly.
Her eyes wandered to his coat again. She didn’t think it would matter that much to her to see him wearing it.
He looked at her confusedly. “What?”
“I’ll tell you later.”
She watched as he put the pea coat away. It had served her well, but now it was back with its rightful owner.
“Was there something you wanted to tell me?” he said.
“Yeah. It’s about your coat.” She smiled. “I may have, um, borrowed it while you were gone.”
“Borrowed?”
“I wore it on occasion. And sometimes, when I missed you more than usual, I would just … lie in bed with it for a while. Sometimes I imagined it still smelled of you.” Her smile faltered, and she looked down towards the floor. Her face felt hot.
He lifted her chin up. He didn’t understand why she was so hesitant to tell him this. “Did it help?”
She sighed. “It was better than nothing, I suppose.” She couldn’t believe she was admitting this out loud. It was just a coat, and not a particularly meaningful one either. It was just some coat in his wardrobe. “Well, I assume you’ll want it back now.”
He smiled. “Well, if it means that much to you, you’re welcome to borrow it.”