At the door, Phillip stood not only on the threshold of the house, but possibly on some kind of personal or emotional brink. He could dismiss Gary, eject the actor from his life, make his existence simpler, maybe even return to normal. Possibly, he could even sell his editor on how fraught he’d been over his mother’s dying. It wasn’t true—he’d expected her death too long to be devastated, had done half of his grieving in stages—but he might be able to make the man believe it. Not that Rawlings would care, but he might bite back his rage long enough to hang on to Phillip. The editor wasn’t the only one who knew what a little money-spinner his column was, and he might just keep his job. He could return to the life he’d known, and Gary could be the shag he’d had in a moment of weakness. Altho
