Carmen Isn't Coming In Today

If he burns the bed again
 Let him just apologize
 By now he knows just how to say he's sorry
 And by now he knows he shouldn't worry
 She'll forgive him in the morning
 Late for work while he's still sleeping
 Put a twenty on the counter
 With a note there right beside it
 That says, "Have a decent day"
 She met him in the bar light
 At a time she felt untethered
 And he told her half the story
 The other half's uncertain
 It's rude to ask some questions
 She could tell that he'd been broken
 But she thought that she could help him
 'Cause they seemed like simple problems
 Been a while since he's been working
 And she never wanted children
 'Til it seemed like it's too late
 She pulls onto the shoulder
 Pulls herself together
 When she gets back on the highway
 There's the urge to keep on going
 Drive straight to South Dakota
 Or somewhere else wide open
 She could call up to the office
 Tell the people at reception
 To pass along the message
 Carmen isn't coming in today
 And the day is finally over
 The traffic takes forever
 But work was mostly painless
 Sit and click on her computer
 Savings and the checking
 Morning into evening
 Came home and found him sleeping
 In the same place that she'd left him
 But it smelled like something's burning
 And his cigarette had fallen
 A black hole in the bedding
 It wasn't so surprising
 It's just hard to keep from crying
 When there's nothing more to say