It was just barely 6:30 in the morning when Al entered the nearly deserted cafeteria at the project. Immediately, he noticed Sam sitting alone at a table on the opposite side of the room cradling a cup of coffee. Al was struck by how tired and drained the younger man looked, but considering the hours he’d been putting in lately, it was no wonder.

Grabbing a cup of coffee for himself, Al took the seat opposite Sam. “Mornin’, Sam,” he said and waited for Sam to acknowledge him. Seeing the vacant look in Sam’s eyes, Al thought he might have fallen asleep with his eyes open. When he didn’t get a response from Sam, Al tried again, nudging the hand cradling the coffee as he again said, “Mornin’, Sam” slightly more forcefully.

“Huh? Oh, Al. I didn’t you notice there,” Sam said becoming aware of his surroundings.

“I’ll say you didn’t. You looked like you were sleeping with your eyes open. Just how much sleep did you get last night?”

“A couple of hours,” Sam responded, raising the mug to take a sip. He grimaced as he tasted the cold brew. “When is it ever more?” he asked ruefully.

Al took a sip, sampling his own coffee before answering. “You should really try for more. You look terrible. Maybe you should take the day off and try to catch up on your sleep. Although, the way you look you’d probably need a month of Sundays before you break even.”

Sam shrugged off Al’s concern. “I’m just a little tired, Al, that’s all. Once we get things really going here I’ll be able to catch up on any sleep I’m missing. Besides, there’s no way I could take today off even if I wanted to. The committee’s coming in today, remember?”

Al had, in fact, forgotten about the committee meeting. That would explain why the normally casually dressed Sam was dressed much more formally. “Damn, I forgot about those nozzles coming today. Still, as soon as the meeting’s done you should knock off for the day and get some rest.”

“There’s no time for rest right now, Al,” Sam said getting up from the table. “Look, I’ve got to get to my office. I’ve got a ton of stuff to try to get caught up on before the committee gets here.”

“What time’s the meeting anyway?”

“It’s at 1:00 and Al?”

“Yeah.”

“You might want to try changing into something a little Sam added while eying the rather garish outfit Al had dressed in.

“What?” Al asked feigning indignance, “you trying to say there’s something wrong with my clothes?”

“No, Al, there’s nothing wrong at all – if you’re planning on just blinding them. Look, I better get going. I’ll see ya later.”

Al watched Sam leave the cafeteria and couldn’t help the niggling feeling of worry he had. Sure, Sam was probably tired. Hell, they all were. An early night was not something many people at the project were familiar with lately. Al couldn’t help feeling, though, that Sam was more than just tired.