No matter how often Luke lost his temper, Michelle still got irritated by it.  One would think that after a while his stomping about and swearing might just lose its potency.  Perhaps it had, a little, since Michelle didn’t tend to burst all into tears the way she used to do when they were students, but it still left her fuming and glaring, which she didn’t like at all.  She slapped her remaining things from the suitcase to the drawer, stealing glances at his backside as he changed.  Had it really been so hard for him to just ask where the swim trunks were instead of falling apart like a baby about it?  

As he left the room, she sighed, snapped her bag shut and closed her eyes.  She was tense, she knew, and she half wished they had just stayed home.  There was so much more work to do away from home.  But it was different work, too.  She supposed that she needed the break from the routine.  It had been getting to her lately – she’d been snapping at Maggie and growling at the baby and stomping around the yard herself.  She assumed Luke had noticed as much and had suggested this weekend as a way to make her feel better.  It struck her, though, as she picked at the handle of her bag, that perhaps he’d suggested it because he was overtired as well.  She knew he didn’t much like the bank, but he was trapped, and much of that was Michelle’s own fault – she would never quite forgive herself for that.  

In the shaded light, Michelle dug in the swim bag and found her own swimsuit.  She put it, covered with a light dress, and slipped outside, finding Luke much closer than she’d expected.  From behind, she wrapped her arms around his bare waist and leaned her cheek against his back.  

“You going for a swim?” she asked him.  “I’d imagine the water feels nice.”


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