Julian's POV
May arrived with the particular energy of a city deciding winter was definitely over. The brownstone project finished on a Thursday. Jo called me from the site at noon. "Patricia wants to meet," she said. "Final walkthrough. She asked for you specifically."
Patricia walked through the finished brownstone with the quiet attention of someone checking whether what was built matched what was imagined. She didn't speak for the first twenty minutes. Jo and I followed her without filling the silence.
In the top-floor study, north and west-facing windows, afternoon light coming in at the angle we'd calculated to last until seven PM, Patricia stopped.
She stood there for a full minute.
"This is exactly what I said I wanted," she finally said.
"You were clear about what you needed
