The next time Desmond called, an automated voice told him, "We're sorry. The number you have dialed is not in service."
He tried several more times before realizing she'd blocked him. Dazed, he went to the nursing home. Mavis refused to see him and sent him away. On the way back, he felt unsteady, as though the ground beneath his feet weren't quite solid. None of it seemed real.
He couldn't understand why Lenora had finally stopped putting up with him.
Not long after they'd started dating, he'd discovered that there was no limit to what she'd put up with from him. He could leave socks all over the living room, scatter his collectible figures across the sofa, or leave the laundry in the washer for 2 days without taking it out to dry. If he held out a little longer, Lenora would do it her
