(Cole)
I stood in the study doorway after she left and listened to the front door close.
The house went quiet at once. A few minutes earlier it had held her voice, her laugh, her hands on me. Now it was only walls and rooms again.
I looked at the chair where she'd dropped her notebook for those few minutes. I looked at the space where she'd stood telling me no while wanting yes. Then I laughed once at myself and walked back inside.
I'd argued billion dollar matters with less focus than it took not to follow her out the door.
I went to the desk and put both hands on it. The room looked different now, though nothing had changed since she'd walked in. Same shelves, same windows, same firebox, same second room waiting for purpose.
That was the problem with certain people. They left and s
