Understanding did not arrive.
“That sounds ominous.”
“Go get it.”
He stared.
I smiled.
“Captain.”
That moved him.
“Stay here.”
“I’ll try not to escape.”
He went downstairs.
The apartment felt different while he was gone.
Not physically.
The green lamp still glowed.
Rainwater still ran through the gutter.
Marlowe still snored.
But possibility seemed to fill every corner.
Reid returned carrying a small dark box.
He held it as if the weight could alter gravity.
He stopped a few feet away.
“You can change your mind.”
“I know.”
“You do not have to open it.”
“I know.”
He placed the box in my hand.
The leather was warm from his grip.
I sat on the couch.
Reid remained standing until I looked at the space beside me.
“Sit.”
He did.
Our knees touched.
