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“Look, there it is,” she said, pointing out the driver’s window. “That’s sure pretty, don’t you think? This is the first time I’ve ever seen the sun come up over the ocean. It’s just a tiny sliver at first. Man, look how fast it goes. Can you believe it comes up that fast? George, look at it.”

“I need to watch the road, Ellie. Sorry.” He continued massaging the hard bulge under his ribs with his right hand while he kept his left on the steering wheel. It wasn’t so big last week, he thought. And I sure didn’t feel like throwing up as much as I do now.

“How long were you down here?” she asked.

There was one spot, kind of towards the back, where it poked out further than the rest. He imagined it looked like a balloon inside his body and that little bump was where you blew in the air. He couldn’t feel the floppy little knot and ring thing though.

“George!”

Both hands went to the steering wheel like he’d tried to touch her leg on the first date. “What?” he said.

“I said how long were you stationed down here?”

“Two years.”

“So you got to see this all the time then.”

“What?” He measured each word carefully every exhalation brought him a little closer to vomiting.

“The sunrise over the ocean,” she said.

“Yeah,” he said as his hand crept back to his stomach. If it was a balloon it would be filled with rocks from the way it felt.

“Are you alright?” she asked. “You seem distracted.”

“I’m just tired,” he said. “I didn’t sleep well last night.”

“Oh yeah. What was that nightmare about?”

Remembering the man’s head bouncing off the concrete, the feel of blood spraying his face in a hot, sticky mist, the sound like a melon dropped from a window made him forget about the lump under his shirt. “Nothing,” he said. “I don’t even remember.”

“You scared me when you woke up screaming.”

“Sorry. Hey, look,” he said pointing out his window and leaning back in the seat. “The sun’s almost all the way up, now.”

She leaned forward. “That’s amazing. It’s only been a few minutes.” She continued looking past him out the window. “Did you like it down here?”

“It was a different time when I was here, Ellie. It was during the Cuban missile crisis, and we were on the front lines, so everyone was pretty edgy. We didn’t get to have a whole lot of fun. We were too worried about nukes coming at us. Plus, that was a long time ago, things down here have changed quite a bit.”

“Not that sunrise though,” she said.

He looked out the window briefly, then back to the road. “No, that too,” he said.

“How?”

“The sun was brighter back then, the sky was bluer. It was like the ocean never ended, like there was no break between the sky and the water.” He pointed out the window, “You see that hazy line above the water?” he said. “That didn’t used to be there.”

“Jean, from bingo, said the sunsets are great in Key West. She said there’s a party every night in this big square right at the edge of the ocean. Her and Frank went while they were down here. She said everyone gathers and watches the sun go down right over the water. As soon as it disappears, everyone claps. After, it’s like a festival with acrobats and mimes. She said it’s a great time. And, it’s supposed to be the only place on the East coast where you can see the sun setting over the ocean.”

“We’re only staying long enough for the crew to unload the trailer then we’re getting back on the road. Sorry, but I’m really tired and I want to sleep in my own bed tonight,” he said without looking at her. He already knew what she’d look like: her wide face sagging like a Basset Hound’s, her eye’s cast to the floor of the truck with heavy lids, a slight pooching of her fat lower lip. He hated to see that face. It always made him feel guilty.

“Okay,” she said. “It will be nice to sleep in our own bed again. That hotel mattress killed my back last