"Rona, we've gotta go." Matt knocked gently on Rona's door, and pushed it open just wide enough to pop his head in. "Rona" he said again, more softly. "We've got to go."

Rona stretched and yawned. "Can't we go later?" she asked without opening her eyes.

Matt sighed - he almost couldn't hear it himself, just a tiny sigh. He'd been hoping not to have to do it like this. He hoped Rona hadn't heard.

"It's late" he said. "Polling booths will be closing soon. We have to go now."

Rona groaned to let Matt know she didn't want to get up. "I just don't feel like it today" she murmured.

"Well - sweetheart, there's no other day. I mean we've got to go do it."

"Why?"

"Why?"

"What's the difference" Rona said. She still hadn't opened her eyes, or rolled over in bed to face Matt.

Matt took one step into the room; paused, thought twice; thought again, and stepped further into the room, and then finally went and knelt by the side of Rona's bed. He reached his hand out to grasp hers, to squeeze it - she squeezed back, eventually. "Come on" he whispered. For me, he thought, but he hesitated to burden her with that. "It'll only take an hour. Then you can come back here. I'll make you dinner. You can sleep all you want then. Will you not just come with me, though? Just an hour. You know you'll feel bad if you don't."

"Mmm." Rona was trying to ignore him. It felt like that to Matt. He tried again: he felt like he was close to breaking her. He hated that he put it in those terms.

"Any other day, you'd do this" he said. He didn't believe it. Any other year, maybe. Any other month, perhaps. But not any other day. Not these days. "Any other day" he said, "you'd be the first person in the world to go out and vote. You know that."

Rona let out a little noise that sounded like a whimper. He was starting to get to her. She was starting to feel like she just wanted to be left alone again. "I don't even know who to vote for" she said. "Why can't you do it for me?" Even in as bad a state as she was, she surely couldn't mean that, Matt assured himself. She must be still half-asleep. Must be.

"Just vote for who you'd normally vote for" he said. He wished he hadn't used the word 'normal'. "Or just do a donkey vote, but you've got to go there and do something." He was getting desperate now: he couldn't believe he was advocating such a measure, but he was just making it up as he went along. Anything to get her out of the house. "Just an hour, Rona. That's all. I'm going to. I'll come with you. Please, Rona. Please."