The old man sat up on his bed, waited as his doctor had advised for his heart and body to adjust, stood up, slowly put on his slippers and robe, then shuffled off to the bathroom.

He set up the coffee pot, flared the burner, poured milk in a cup to wait on the counter beside the stove.

Impatiently he poured some half-perked coffee into the cup, mumbling over the inevitable grinds backwashed in.

Finally, he sat down at the card table in the living room and studied the game of chess laid out there.