What happened? What time is it? Jon is still in bed, where I last saw him. It's dark; still nighttime. But how long was I out? What happened? I could wake him, but what if he gets mad and throws me out? If only I could read his watch over on the end table; it's too dark.
The VCR is flashing 12:00, but then it always is. At least telling time isn't its primary function. Jon relies on me. I've been waking him up since he was in high school. I was there when he lost his virginity (at 10:23 PM). I woke him up for college graduation after a night of drinking (at 7:45 AM). I got him up for his first day at a real job, and every morning since (at 6:30 AM). Jon and I have been through a lot together over the past 131,420 hours or so.
"Or so."
I haven't a clue as to what time it is now, or how long I've been out - 5 minutes or 5 hours. Maybe it's nearly 6:30 already. If I wake him up early, he'll think I've malfunctioned and he'll replace me. Maybe I have malfunctioned. Maybe I'm no good for him anymore.
He's such a great guy; he deserves better. I love how he glances at me as he walks through the door, loosening his tie when he gets home, even though he could just as easily look at his watch. Or the satisfaction he wears on his face when he realizes he still has 30 minutes to sleep before getting up on a cold morning.
I've taken things for granted all these many hours. I've assumed we'd always be together and that I would never fail him. I've become complacent. I should have paid more attention to the time of the sunrises in the mornings.
Maybe the power went out. I hope so. Jon will wake on his own and see the other clocks in the house are wrong and he'll realize it isn't just me... unless I did malfunction. I do have a battery backup; things like this aren't supposed to happen. Maybe my battery has gone bad; after all, it has been 131,420 hours... or so.
But what if it is me? What if Jon doesn't check my battery; what if he just figures he's been with me long enough, and throws me out? It isn't like there aren't thousands of other timepieces out there that would look much better where I sit and wake him just as well.
I need to relax. Jon needs me. He's comfortable with me. Everything will work out. Just relax. 12:00 on. 12:00 off. 12:00 on. 12:00 off. 12:00 on.