The basket of laundry was still warm from the dryer. A wisp of hair had fallen into my eyes, and I had no free hand to brush it out. I did that little puffing thing girls do in situations like this, trying to get the hair off my face, knowing it was futile but doing it anyway while Karl watched.

"You¹re being ridiculous," I said, setting the basket of laundry down near the bed.

"Am I, Donna," he said, He leaned against the wall.

We have a routine with the laundry. Rehang the towels in the bathroom, put the sheets and blankets on the bed, and then fold the rest of the laundry, dumping it on the just-made bed and folding or hanging from there.

"I think so." I bent into the basket and rooted around until I found the fitted bottom sheet. A pair of my panties and one of his socks clung to it like ornaments. I flicked them back into the basket, put the sheet on the bed in a white heap.

I looked at Karl. He hadn¹t moved. "Are you going to help me with this?" Even I could hear the irritation in my voice.

"I always do, don¹t I?" He took his place across from me and waited for me to hand him a corner. It usually takes us several tries to get the sheet properly oriented so that it will go on the mattress. After the second or third try one of us makes a comment about how fitted sheets are a nuisance. It¹s a ritual.

I grunted an assent. "Here, take this," I said and handed him a corner. I said that it looked like it might fit.

"I don¹t think so," Karl said, adding, "He¹s all you talk about any more." He put the corner of the sheet onto the corner of the mattress. So we¹d got it right.

"What do you mean?" I asked, pretty sure I didn¹t want to know the answer, and I turned to walk out of the room. "I¹m getting some water. You want any?"

"Can¹t you wait until we finish with this?"

"Yeah," I said, "sure." My diversion had worked. I tucked my corner under. Two down, two to go and then the top sheet, blankets and pillows.

"What I mean is that every thing that happens you bring around to him," he said. He walked to the head of the bed and stood there. I was supposed to move up to the head, too, so that we could put the top part of the sheet on. If he put his corner over first then it would leave the hardest part for me.

I walked up to my side, pulling the sheet along in my hand. "Oh?" I said, being as casual as I could.

"Do you have any idea how many times you¹ve mentioned him today? And it¹s not even noon?" He tucked in his corner.

"Hey!" I said, "Can¹t you wait for me?" This isn¹t the way we¹re supposed to be doing this, I bent down and wrestled with the sheet and mattress until I¹d got the corner under just the way it should be.

I went back to the basket and picked up the top sheet. Nothing was clinging to this one. Karl moved back to the foot of the bed. He said, "It¹s Al said that and Al said this and Al jumped over the candlestick."

The top sheet billowed as we put it on the bed. The trick was to get the same amount on either side of the bed‹enough but not too much. One good turn in bed gets all the covers, Al says. Is Al a blanket hog?

We pulled the sheet over the foot of the mattress far enough so that we could tuck it under. Next the blankets. "You don¹t have to get sarcastic," I said.

"Thank you. I¹m glad sarcasm is not required," he said. He made no move to lift the mattress though I was bent over and gripping it in my hand. He was looking at me intently, and I realized that he was staring down my shirt. "When did you stop wearing a bra?"

"I haven¹t stopped. I¹m just not wearing one now." I said. "Do you want to tuck this in with me?" But now I was standing and I¹d put my hands on my hips.

"What would Al think if he knew you weren¹t wearing a bra?" he said.

"I¹m not going to dignify that with an answer." I said, dignifying it with an answer. I didn¹t like the direction this line of questioning was taking. "And it¹s not exactly relevant is it? It¹s not like he¹s a real threat." I said.

"Real enough," Karl said. "Isn¹t he?"

Together we picked up the mattress and slid the sheet under it. Only the blankets and pillows to go. Finally, without talking we slipped the pillows into their cases and plopped them side by side, fluffy and perfect.

We¹d made our bed, and now all that was left for me was to lie in it.