Chapter 157

• The package stayed on the dining table overnight, untouched. I passed it twice before bed, resisting the urge to undo the twine. In the morning, the first thing I saw when I came into the kitchen was the brown paper catching a thin strip of sunlight through the blinds. The light made the paper look softer, almost worn, and the twine cast a neat, straight shadow across it.
• Julian had already left. His coffee cup sat rinsed and upside down by the sink. On the counter was a note in his handwriting — Meeting early. See you later. The apartment was still. I could hear the faint hum of the fridge and the occasional groan of the old pipes when the building shifted.
• I made coffee and sat at the table, turning my chair slightly so I wouldn’t be looking directly at the package. I didn’t want it to pull at me before I was ready.