My head felt achy, stomach slightly unsettled when I rose at 6AM, my usual time. Mom was heading for the kitchen when I caught up with her, her own face a bit pinched and pale.

"Trouble sleeping?" I hugged her around her shoulders, parting ways with her at the foyer as I followed Petunia out.

Mom nodded, yawning behind one hand. "I miss your father." She smiled then and left me to start breakfast while I padded out into the cold November morning to watch over my ...