He came home at 10:45.Lily had been asleep since eight, I'd eaten alone, tidied the kitchen, done the small evening things, and then sat on the sofa with my book and the low lamp.I was waiting.His bag set down, heavier than usual.He didn't come to the kitchen, neither to the living room, he went straight past both and the light under his study door didn't come on, which meant he hadn't gone to work either.I put my book down.He was in the living room, he hadn't turned anything on, he was in the chair by the window, the dark one, the city doing its nighttime glittering behind him, and he was just sitting there. Jacket still on, Just sitting in the dark looking at nothing I could identify.I stood in the doorway for a moment.He knew I was there, he'd looked up when I appeared, briefly, and then looked back at the window, not sending me away, neither inviting me in. Leaving it to me.I came in, sat on the sofa nearest to his chair, close enough that he wasn't alone, far enough that
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