Diane opened the bedroom door and peeked inside. Her husband was still sleeping, so she closed the door slowly, turned and walked into the kitchen. Suddenly that odd feeling crept over her again. It was as if she was supposed to do something, but she couldn’t remember what she was supposed to do.
     She sat down at the kitchen table and stared at the cupboard. After sitting for what seemed to be forever, she glanced over at the clock; it was nine-thirty in the morning, but so what? She got up, walked over and opened the cupboard door. The woman looked inside and spied the large box of cereal on the back of the shelf. She removed it and opened the top, reached in and pulled out the bottle which had been secreted there.
     Just one drink is all I’ll have, the woman thought, just one.
   She grabbed a glass from the shelf behind her and poured the drink. It disappeared quickly, so quickly in fact that she just had to have one more. She walked back to the table with the glass and the bottle in her hands. She took her seat as she slowly poured one more.
     “What the hell are you doing?” the man almost yelled.
     “I’m just having one drink, really I am,” she answered her husband who stood in the bedroom doorway. “It’s only one.”
      “But you promised me...you remember that you promised, don’t you?”
      The woman hung her head as she said, “I know and I’m sorry, this is the last one, I promise.”
     “Again, another promise,” the man said as he walked over to where she was sitting and grabbed the bottle from her. She tried to stop him, but he avoided her grasp and moved toward the sink. He held the bottle upside down, watching the liquid drain out.
    He heard her begin crying, maybe because she had been caught, but probably because he had just gotten rid of her...her what? A crutch; a way for her to make it through the day? No, neither of those. It was because she had let him down and she loved him and she had disappointed him one more time.
     When would it ever end? He wouldn’t stay with her much longer unless she could do something. But there was really nothing she could do.

Knightdale, NC
Monday Morning
October 15, 2012

​Prologue

The Time Factor