Mabry Morris walked through the front door, smelled the fresh basil and fish sauce, and remembered it was Thai night. In the warm living room, rice and noodles steamed from their Styrofoam containers on the coffee table.

“Good timing,” her husband said, sitting on the edge of the couch.

Mabry fell onto the cushion next to him and pulled the rubber band from her cropped ponytail. “I’m starving,” she said and peeled open the sweet and sour sauce. “How was your day?” She dipped an eggroll and took a bite, catching the crispy flakes of shell with her other hand.

“Ah, nothing special.” He cracked a beer and took a sip. “Actually,” he remembered, “some guy brought in a Maserati. What a car.”

Mabry wiped her mouth. “Did you drive it?”

“No, I was in the pit all day.”

“Oh, right. It’s Tuesday.”

“Yeah,” he leaned back into the couch, “you should see my coveralls.”

“Greasy?”

He nodded with the beer at his lips. Mabry put the last bite of eggroll in her mouth and pointed to a small black spot on her scrubs. “If it makes you feel better, I’m pretty sure that’s blood.”

He stared at it, a hint of smile in his lips. “Gross.”

“Please.” She scowled and stuck her chopsticks into the noodles. “We’re both a couple of filthy children.”

He chuckled and put his hand on her thigh, covering the spot. “I guess there are worse things we could be.”

She laughed easily, but it soon faded from her warmhearted eyes, and those worried lines set into the young creases on her forehead.

“What?” he asked.

Her hand held the rice noodles midair. She shook the thought off.

“Come on. What?”

Mabry ate at the noodles slowly. “You know the kid from the motorcycle accident?”

“Yeah.”

“He died today.”

Her husband’s face softened. He rubbed her leg with his broad hand. “I’m sorry babe.”

Mabry closed her eyes, seeing them wheel the kid downstairs. “I hate those things,” she said. “Promise me you’ll never get one.”

He scratched his beard. “I hadn’t planned on it.”

“Good.” She lifted the beer from his hands and took a sip. “You know what?”

“What?”

Mabry picked up another eggroll and dipped it into the sweet and sour sauce. “I think I like the other Thai place better.”