I told him that evening.
Not immediately. Not the way you announce something or present it for a reaction. Just in the ordinary way of the evening settling around us. Helena in her chair. Mrs. Park finishing her day. The house doing its quiet routine.
After dinner Helena went to bed early. She had been good all day but good days still cost her something and by eight o clock the cost showed in the slight heaviness around her eyes. She kissed Damien on the cheek and squeezed my hand and went upstairs slowly with the dignity of someone who refuses to be carried anywhere.
Damien and I went to the sitting room.
The fire was going. Low and steady. The kind of fire that does not need attention just presence.
We sat in our usual places. Him in the chair. Me on the sofa with my feet tucked und
