Sometime in the middle of the night I rolled over only to throw an arm over not Annie but an empty side of bed. Still mostly asleep I opened one eye and sought out the bedside clock. It was almost 4:00. I closed my eye again and assumed I was dreaming. After all, where would she be at 4 am, in a strange city? My suspicions were confirmed when I reached for her again sometime after that and found her there, already cuddled near my chest. Smiling, I settled comfortably back into dream land.

It seemed like only seconds later that I felt the bed shaking with an earthquake. I peeked out from under the covers to see Annie bouncing on the bed smilingly, sunlight streaming in behind her. “What’re you doing?” I muttered, yanking the covers back up.

“Waking you up!” she sang happily.

“Since when are you such an early bird?”

“Since I never get to spend any time with you. C’mon, get up.”

“No.”

“Yes!”

“No,” I grumbled.

“Yeeees...”

“Noooo...”

The shaking came to a halt and I peeked out at her again. “If you don’t get out of bed I’ll be convinced you don’t love me anymore,” she announced seriously.

“I love you, I just don’t love early mornings...Speaking of which,” I continued, now a little more awake, “were you gone somewhere early this morning?”

Annie stopped looking pitiful as her face became blank. “Huh?”

“This morning at, like, 4 am. I could’ve sworn I rolled over and you weren’t here, but then later you were back again.”

Annie looked away. “Where would I go at 4 am?”

“I don’t know, AJ disappears at all sorts of weird hours.”

A slight smile cracked on her face. “He also plays with puppets.”

“True,” I conceded, “but you still haven’t answered the question.”

“What question?” she asked innocently. I rolled my eyes. “I forgot!”

“I’m waiting...”

“Keep on waiting then.”

“Annie, I won’t be mad,” I assured her as I sat up, “I just want to make sure I’m not going crazy.” She gave me a look. “Crazier.”

“Fine, yes, I went for a walk last night,” she admitted, walking over to the window.

“See, was that so hard?”

“Yes.”

I got out of bed and joined her, wrapping my arms around her from behind. “Seriously, you really could’ve just told me that, ya goofball. I’m not mad or anything.” She glanced back and smiled at me and I kissed her softly.

“I know, sometimes I just like being difficult.”

“Difficult or sneaky?”

“Sneaky?” she repeated.

“Yeah - you sneakin’ around behind my back?” I teased.

She looked back over her shoulder again. “Who in God’s name would I sneak around with?”

“I don’t know...maybe Howie?”

Annie tensed. “I told you you didn’t have to worry about that,” she practically barked, pulling away from me. I frowned and followed her.

“Annie, I was just teasing.”

“I know you were.”

“Then why’d you get upset?”

“I’m not upset.”

“Yes you are.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Yes you are.”

“Brian!” She spun around to face me. “I’m not upset., OK? Not upset.”

I pouted. “You sure?” I affirmed. She sighed but smiled.

“Positive.”

“Good. I won’t ever, ever mention Howie again, in all my life. Scout’s honor.” I held up three fingers. “I think.” Instead of laughing she turned away again. “What now?” I exclaimed, frustrated.

“Nothing! I never said you couldn’t talk about him, Brian, Jesus. I just don’t understand why you can’t let this Howie thing go.”

“I didn’t even know there was a Howie ‘thing’, let alone that I hadn’t let it go,” I told her quietly. She was making me feel guilty and as far as I knew I hadn‘t done anything wrong. Annie waved her hand at me.

“Never mind, I’m sorry. I’m just...I’m tired and it’s making me cranky,” she said, finally smiling again. I was hesitant.

“You sure this isn’t another tell-Brian-it’s-fine-but-get-angry-at-him-again-in-five-minutes deal?” I pressed. She laughed.

“I’m sure.”

“How about in an hour?”

“I think it’ll still be fine.”

“A day?” I joked. Annie playfully socked me in the gut.

“It’s a day-to-day thing with you, country boy. I don’t want to make you any promises I can’t keep.”

I pulled her in for a kiss. “Good enough.” We started getting ready, but I was still going over what had happened that morning, and as I watched Annie I noticed that - despite what she said - she was still on edge about something. I had a strong suspicion that this apparent ‘Howie thing’ was actually a very big deal and I needed to find out just what the story was. There was no way I could ask Annie about it anytime soon - Lord only knew how she might fly off the handle. Maybe I could talk to Howie about it. He and I had never been all that close since the group had started, but we were still friends. I’d have to think about just what kind of questions to ask so that I could get the maximum amount of information without seeming like I was snooping. The last thing I needed was him reporting back to Annie that I was investigating her or something. Maybe I’d come up with a better way to find out the scoop than asking D. Either way, I definitely had to get an in to my girlfriend’s mind, and quick.