Rebecca's Hands Return to Her

Bob's wandering right hand encountered a framed photograph of himself in uniform on an end table next to the sofa. Rebecca happened to be watching as his hand hesitated, tapping the glass with a fingertip as if somehow hoping to be allowed back into the image's frozen moment of time. The fingers caught Rebecca looking at them and waggled, either a perversely jaunty hello or a reminder from Bob that he could see her. She forced herself to lean over and kiss his palm, somehow fighting back an instinctive shudder when the fingers curled up to caress her cheeks. Then she woke up and knew it was not a dream. His hands had tightened around her throat, the two thumbs