I got up and walked to the spare room door. Gerald was still asleep with one hand resting on top of the blanket. I stood there for a minute and listened to the sound of his breathing.

It was the same sound I had heard for years when we were kids and shared a room. Some things do not change even when everything else does. The blanket rose and fell in the same steady way it always had.

That was the night I kept the promise. The cruise stayed on and Shirley stayed in the dark for a little longer. I would have to answer for it later but right then the house was quiet and the decision was made. I turned off the light and went to sit in the chair by his bed. The room was dark but I could still see the outline of his face. I stayed there until the morning light came through the curtains.