Chapter 196

• I was looking for my long wool coat, the one I had worn last winter when the winds came early. The boutique was colder these days, and I had promised myself I would be better prepared for the season this time. The coat was somewhere in the bedroom closet, probably wedged between the newer jackets I had not worn as much. I pulled open the door and began moving hangers aside, the soft whisper of fabric filling the quiet.
• The top shelf caught my eye. There were the usual boxes—some holding extra scarves, one with a pair of shoes I had worn only once—but in the far corner, just beyond the reach of the light, sat a box I did not remember placing there. It was a pale brown cardboard, the kind that came with neither label nor logo, the corners softened by time. I stood on my toes, brushing my fingers over the surface before pulling it down.
• Julian was in the living room, absorbed in whatever book he had taken from the shelf this week. I carried the box to the bed, my hands careful in a way they were not when I handled anything else. It was heavier than I expected, though not by much.