[ He wants to pull her close—has anyone done that, is anyone here for her?—but it's easy now to pry out that feeling. Hold it up to the light. Put it aside.

William steps inside, into what feels like her space. Picks out the little changes—the surfaces uncluttered by books, the disassembled drawer on top of the dresser. It seems more than a little unfair for her to put all that effort into sprucing up the barge and wind up in the same crappy room. ] It's my understanding [ wry, accent smoothing the edges of his voice but not, somehow, softening it ] that's not why people do those kinds of things.

I want—I wondered if you'd talk to me about these. [ He takes out the maps, handling them carefully. Raising his eyes to her. She should lie down. ] You can sit down.