The 100-Day Goodbye
He sat nearby, reading aloud from an old biography of an Italian sculptor she had kept on the lower shelf—his voice deep, even, and thoroughly unhurried.
By the time Julian’s car pulled into the driveway at a quarter to three, the bowl of oatmeal was completely empty, and the glass of milk was gone.
Arthur stood up to meet the doctor at the side door, leaving Evelyn in the warmth of the armchair. As he walked down the hallway, he paused by the grandfather clock in the foyer. He pulled the small silver key from his pocket, opened the glass face, and carefully turned the brass minute hand forward exactly five minutes, aligning it perfectly with the watch on his wrist. He closed the case with a quiet click, stepped back, and watched the heavy pendulum continue its steady, accurate swing.