She was poised to leave, her body already angled toward the front door. Instead, she quickly crossed the space between herself and the boy and pulled him into a rigid hug, before he could see her face.

“Joe, please. I don’t want to hurt you,” she said, careful not to let her lips touch his ear.

“Then stay,” he murmured.

He was technically still married.

She could feel him pressing tightly into her. His neediness was unnerving. She fixed her stare on the lamp in the corner, and then down to the coffee table, where the empty, post-bar bottles lined up in pairs would surely telegraph to anyone who cared he hadn’t come home alone.

“Have to go now, Joseph.”

She pulled back, but he kept his hands on her shoulders. The lamplight caught his blond hair and an oval of gold glowed around his head.

She smiled weakly. He had taken off his glasses.