It was not unusual for him to wake up momentarily during the night.
On this occasion he saw movement across the room. It wasn’t much more than a shadow. He could only just make her out. He felt or his glasses and put them on. She was just standing there looking out. She was obviously having trouble getting off to sleep. This wasn’t uncommon, but it rarely ended up with her actually getting out of bed. She was probably worrying about something, he thought. He knew that she could be a terrible worrier at times. He wondered what she was concerned about this time. He couldn’t think of anything that could be troubling her, but that didn’t mean anything. He knew she could get worked up about the most trivial things. He was tempted to ask, but this could lead to them both being awake for ages.
He sat up quietly, not wishing to disturb her. He watched her for a while. In the darkened room it was hard to see, but he got an occasional glimpse of some slight movement. After several minutes of doing this he felt sleep creeping up on him. Eventually, he realised that he’d have to whisper something that would not make her jump, but at the same time would stir her enough to get her to climb back into bed.
He took a sip of water from the side table and softly cleared his throat. In his quietest voice, he asked, “Are you OK, Pet?”
The bedding behind him moved. Slightly annoyed, his wife replied, “Yes, of course. Do try to get off, dear.”