Page 115 of Commander’s Mate

“Why?”

“Work all day. Drive home. Figure out dinner. Clean up. Do it again.”

“That sounds efficient.”

“It sounds exhausting.”

He considered.

“You miss it.”

I stopped slicing.

Damn him.

“Sometimes.”

He turned the bread.

Perfect.

Of course.

“I miss being annoyed by things that didn’t matter.”

He nodded slowly.

“My mother complained about kitchen storage.”

I looked at him.

“What?”

“Every week.”

“Your mother?”

“Yes.”

“Commander General Zared Maktu’s mother complained about cabinets.”

“Constantly.”

I laughed.

He looked offended on her behalf.

“She believed the upper shelving was designed by an idiot.”

“Your mom and mine would get along.”

“My mother would not appreciate being called mom.”

“She’d survive.”

He turned the sandwich again.

“I miss her complaints.”