Grace rolled over in her big, painfully empty bed and looked towards the alarm clock. The glowing red numbers read 5:30 A.M. She sighed and pulled his pillow closer. As she buried her face in the soft cotton, she wondered if the smell was her Henry's or if even that had been replaced by this new Henry's smell. Or were they the same? Was he who her Henry would have been without her?
In frustration, she sat up and threw the pillow at the curtained windows. How had this happened? It shouldn't be possible, yet it certainly explained a lot about the last few weeks! But what was she supposed to do now? Her Henry was lost to her forever, but in some complicated way, this new Henry was her Henry. The physics was mind-boggling. Their entire history was lost to him, but what if she could build the new future that he claimed to want with her?
With a sigh, Grace finally gave up on getting any sleep. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and pushed herself to her feet. A shower and some breakfast would help. She headed to the bathroom with determination.
Half an hour later she was standing in the kitchen cracking eggs into a bowl to make herself breakfast. Looking absently out the window in the direction of the garage she pondered. This had been her Henry's favorite breakfast. Was it this Henry's favorite as well? Squaring her shoulders and reaching for another egg, she decided that there was only one way to find out.
She needed to get to know him somehow. What would be the point in waiting? And she had liked him even with the changes for the past few weeks. Mourning her Henry seemed silly if it turned out that this Henry wasn't as different as she feared. Maybe the differences would even be more appealing.
Besides, it was just eggs. How intimate could an omelet be, really? Maybe a fresh start would turn out to be good for them. And if it wasn't going to work out, she'd rather find out now and try to save herself years of heartache. Breakfast was as good a place to start as any.