Andrew: "Do you remember what you said to me before you fell asleep last night?"
Me: "I love you?"
Andrew: "After that."
Me: "No idea."
Andrew: "You said, 'don't mess with my Fortress of Solitude'."
Me: "Oh."
Andrew: "What the *#@$ is your Fortress of Solitude?"
Me: "Well..."
And then I had to explain to my husband what my Fortress of Solitude was. I told him that, as a child, when I was overwhelmed from the energies (both seen and unseen) around me I would arrange the bed coverlet around my face so I couldn't see or be seen. Even as a small child I often required solitude and this was one way I got it. I always thought of this practice as entering my Fortress of Solitude.
Now that I am much older I still, at times, feel the need to close myself off from everything and everyone to recharge and balance myself. This particular evening I required extra buffering so I placed a wall of pillows between Andrew and myself, said my Prayers, told my husband I loved him, then uttered the phrase that I'm sure kept him from falling asleep for a while.
Considering some of the things I've had to explain about myself to Andrew, this one was pretty tame. And I'm sure he filed it under 'my wife's quirks'.
I'm also confident that the next time he sees me setting up a pillow wall he won't mess with my Fortress of Solitude.