“I should go,” she said quietly, as if waking from a dream.
“It’s almost ten,” I said. “And it’s forty minutes back to Durham.”
“I’m fine,” she replied, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Diane,” I said, my tone firm, but not unkind. “The couch folds out. You know where the extra blankets are. It doesn’t make sense to drive forty minutes at ten o’clock when you have to be back here at nine tomorrow morning anyway.”
She hesitated for a moment, her eyes searching my face. Something passed across her expression — uncertainty, maybe regret. Then, she finally nodded. “Okay,” she said, her voice quiet.
I set up the pull-out couch in the living room, found the extra blankets in the hall closet, and left them on the armrest without making it a big deal. I kissed Cooper goodnight, careful not to disturb him, and then went to my room.
