The following evening arrived quietly.
Dinner had been simple.
Conversation had been even simpler.
A few comments about the meal.
A question about whether the rain expected tomorrow would finally arrive.
An observation from Malissa that Evermere somehow managed to feel larger at night.
Nothing important.
Nothing memorable.
Yet somehow...
None of it felt forced anymore.
By the time the dishes had been cleared and the kitchen returned to its usual spotless state, Alexander had already settled back into the living area with his laptop.
Reports occupied the coffee table.
Several emails remained unanswered.
A conference call scheduled for later waited patiently somewhere in his calendar.
Business, as always, refused to stop simply because the world had.
Malissa lingered near the staircase for a moment.
Usually this would have been the point where she disappeared upstairs for the rest of the evening.
Instead she hesitated.
Then turned back.
A few minutes later she returned carrying a book.
Alexander glanced up briefly as she crossed the room.
Neither commented on it.
She simply settled onto the opposite end of the sofa while he returned to whatever report occupied his screen.
The room fell quiet once more.
Not empty.
Not uncomfortable.
Simply quiet.
The soft tapping of keys occasionally broke the silence.
Pages turned every now and then.
Outside, wind brushed gently against the windows overlooking the gardens.
Somewhere deeper inside the house, the grandfather clock announced another passing hour.
Malissa shifted slightly against the cushions.
The book resting in her hands had once been one of her favourites.
Tonight she had somehow managed to read the same paragraph three times without absorbing a single word.
Eventually she looked up.
"You're still working?"
Alexander didn't look away from the screen.
"Unfortunately."
She smiled slightly.
"That's your answer every time."
"It's usually true."
"Should I feel sorry for you?"
"Probably."
That earned a quiet laugh from her.
He glanced up briefly.
The expression disappeared before he could properly register it.
She returned to her book.
He returned to his reports.
The room settled once more.
Several minutes passed.
Then another ten.
Then another.
At some point Alexander stood to make coffee.
He returned carrying two mugs.
One found its usual place beside his laptop.
The second stopped beside her.
Malissa blinked.
"You made me coffee?"
"Tea."
She looked down.
It was tea.
"Right."
A pause.
"Thank you."
He nodded once before returning to his seat.
She wrapped both hands around the mug.
The warmth felt nice.
Outside, the wind grew stronger.
The trees beyond the windows swayed gently beneath the night sky.
Eventually the tea disappeared.
The reports continued multiplying.
The pages in her book continued turning.
The evening continued exactly as it was.
Comfortably.
Quietly.
At some point Malissa tucked one leg beneath herself against the sofa.
The book rested more loosely in her hands now.
The words blurred together more often.
Her eyelids grew heavier.
The warmth of the room certainly wasn't helping.
Neither was the soft rhythm of keys against a keyboard nearby.
Or the distant hum of the heating system.
Or the quiet certainty that for once...
there was nowhere she needed to be.
No hospital forms.
No bills waiting on the kitchen counter.
No second job.
No deadlines.
No responsibilities demanding her attention.
Just warmth.
Quiet.
And pages that had started making less and less sense.
The book slipped slightly lower.
Her head settled against the back of the sofa.
The next page remained half turned.
A few moments later...
she was asleep.
Alexander didn't notice immediately.
Nearly twenty minutes passed before he finally looked away from the screen to rest his eyes.
That was when he saw her.
The book had fallen closed against her lap.
One strand of hair had escaped near her face.
The position couldn't possibly be comfortable.
Yet somehow...
she looked entirely undisturbed by it.
For a moment he simply looked.
Not long.
Not thoughtfully.
Simply registering the situation.
The room had grown cooler.
The blanket folded neatly over the armchair nearby caught his attention almost immediately.
He stood.
Crossed the room.
Picked it up.
Carefully he unfolded it before draping it lightly across her shoulders.
One corner slipped slightly.
He adjusted it once.
Only once.
Then stepped back.
She didn't stir.
Didn't wake.
Alexander looked at her for exactly one moment longer before returning to his work.
A few minutes later another email arrived.
Then another.
A conference call notification appeared shortly afterward.
Eventually he closed the laptop.
Collected the reports.
And disappeared upstairs.
The blanket remained exactly where he had left it.
Morning arrived slowly.
Sunlight spilled through the windows overlooking the gardens.
Birdsong drifted faintly through the glass.
For several seconds Malissa remained perfectly still.
Confusion arrived first.
Followed immediately by realization.
The living room.
The sofa.
The book resting against her lap.
Then finally...
the blanket.
She frowned slightly.
She definitely hadn't brought one downstairs.
Slowly she sat upright.
The blanket slipped from her shoulders onto her lap.
Her eyes drifted around the room.
Empty.
Quiet.
Alexander was nowhere in sight.
Probably upstairs already.
Or working.
Or both.
Her fingers brushed lightly against the fabric.
She already knew.
There wasn't exactly another explanation available.
Still...
something about seeing the evidence of it sitting there in her lap felt strangely different.
Quietly she folded the blanket.
Carefully.
Neatly.
Almost exactly the way she imagined he would have done it himself.
She placed it back over the arm of the sofa.
Then gathered her book.
Somewhere upstairs, another work call had already begun.
Downstairs, Malissa adjusted the book against her chest before heading toward the stairs.
The small smile lingering on her face followed her all the way back to her room.