I Thought My Daughter Was Embarrassed by Me, Until I Overheard the Secret Her Husband Had Been Keeping for Five Long Years

I rubbed the knuckle of my right thumb, where the joint had swollen to the size of a hickory nut, then worked my fingers open and closed to get the warmth back into them.

“The air is getting cold early this year,” I said?

“You have six hours of overtime on the ledger for Saturday,” Frank said, not looking up from the dried adhesive. “Go home and put some ice on those wrists. Let the night shift handle the heavy corrugated stuff.”

“The gas bill is ninety-seven dollars this month,” I said?