ELARA'S POV
We spent the morning doing nothing in particular. I read. He worked through some papers, then stopped and read too. The fire did what fires do and the apartment was warm and outside Seattle was doing its November thing.
By afternoon I was restless.
"Walk?" I said.
"Yes."
We went to the waterfront, which was quieter than summer, the tourist energy gone and the city feeling more like itself. We walked without a destination, hands linked, not talking much.
Near the market he stopped at a flower stall and bought me a bunch of dark red dahlias without explanation.
"What are these for?" I asked.
"Nothing. You looked at them."
"I look at a lot of things."
"These ones twice."
I looked at the dahlias. Then at him. "You're annoyingly observant."
"I'm making up for lost time."
