“I think we should build a barrier,” I said, turning to check the closet for spare pillows and triumphantly returning with two. With mathematical precision, I arranged them down the middle to bisect the surface, and then I measured with my arm to make sure both sides were even.
“Better,” I said.
“Is it?” Cooper asked.
“It’s nice and even,” I said.
“But there’s no room left for us.”
“Sure, there is,” I said. “It’s all mental.”
Cooper frowned at the setup.
“Now we won’t bother each other,” I said.
“If I wanted to bother you,” Cooper said, “those pillows wouldn’t stop me.”
I gave him a look. “But you’renotgoing to bother me, right? Because you know that today was the most humiliating day of my life, and all I really want to do is go to sleep and stay that way until this cruise is over.”
Cooper gave in. “I’m not going to bother you.”
And then carefully, deliberately, we each pulled back the comforter on our respective sides, and got ourselves settled, and clicked off our sconces.
And then, of course, I couldn’t sleep.
And neither could Cooper.
We just lay there, arms at our sides, looking up at the reflected moonlight on the ceiling—occasionally shifting position and rustling the sheets.
Finally, after what felt like at least an hour, I heard Cooper’s rustling get louder.
“What are you doing?” I said in a half whisper.
“I’m getting up to pee,” Cooper said. And then, at the bathroom door, he paused. “I’m not closing the door all the way.”
“Why?”
“Because of my cleithrophobia. I’m leaving it cracked.”
“I thought you said it was mild.”
“If it bothers you so much, go out on the balcony.”
“Nothing bothers me,” I said. “You can’t be worse than Pete.”
When Cooper came out, he said he’d forgotten to do his push-ups. So he dropped to the floor at the foot of the bed and did a bunch. So many, I lost count.
Not that I was counting.
I crawled down and watched him. After a while, I asked, “Why are you doing so many?”
“I’m just doing a normal number,” he said.
“It seems like more than normal.”
“How many push-ups doyounormally do before bed?”
“Zero.”
