Sue woke up when she felt him get out of bed, but kept her eyes closed for a few more minutes. She knew he would take Buster out for a jog before he did anything else. After a while, she peeked her eyes opened, and realized he was gone. Laying on the bed, she relived the moments from the night before.
After the argument, she had been upset. Though she did not think she could sleep, she laid down anyway. When she woke up some time later, she opened her eyes to see him kneeling beside the chair. Tears were falling freely down his face, and occasionally she could make out a word or two of what he was saying. His lips were not visible all the time, but she knew he was praying for her, for them. It touched a place in her that had not been touched for a long time.
Not wanting to deal with it, she had closed her eyes again, pretending she was asleep, but this time sleep was no where close. A story she heard as a kid kept coming to her mind. It was about a boy who lived in Holland. One day he was coming home from school, and he noticed a small crack in the dyke. Knowing that if it was left unchecked, the waters would flood the whole town, he had put his finger in the hole. He had stayed there until help had come. She realized she was like that boy. Jack had cracked the wall around her heart. Instead of allowing the emotions to tear down the rest of the wall, she had put her finger in the hole. Not allowing anything to escape, thus keeping the walls erected.
However, when he had come to bed, and gently put his arm around her, another leak sprang up. Then he had snuggled closer, and another crack. Finally, she could not fight it anymore. For the first time in two years, she really cried. Letting out every hurt and every disappointment, as well as the guilt. They still needed to talk, but she knew they would.
Out of the corner of her eye, Sue saw Jack coming back towards the bedroom, and closed her eyes again. Waiting for a few minutes, she gave him time to get in the shower. She knew that he had held himself back last night. The reaction to her closeness had been apparent, but he had not acted upon his desires. He had just held her. Today, it was her turn to build a bridge.
Quietly, she slipped out of bed, and peaked in the bathroom. He was in the shower already, just as she expected. Removing her gown, she opened the shower door and stepped in. The surprise on his face was both humorous and sad. At one time, he would have not been surprised at all.
It didn't take long for the shock to change into a burning passion. They spent a while in the shower, then moved to the bed, where they stayed in each others arms all morning. Neither seemed to mind that they had missed church.