I looked at her serenely, quietly saying some words that I wish I hadn’t.  

“Does that mean Dad is not coming home anytime soon?”

Her face fell.  She stepped back.  She suddenly looked a hundred years old.  She seemed like she was about to stammer something else, but nothing came out of her mouth.  I trained a steady gaze on her.  Somehow I seemed to know what I was doing.  I looked up at the black clouds rolling in.  I felt the cool air that started to whip up.  

I motioned skyward with my head, cap and all, and then, again, towards my mother.  

“Best you get back into the house.  A storm is brewing.”

CAPTAIN’S LOG #10(b) (Supplemental)[Circa October, 2021]: