After several seconds, he cleared his throat, voice thin. “Excuse me,” he managed. He stood slowly, using the armrest for support, and shuffled toward the lavatory without meeting either of their eyes. Elise watched him go, unsettled by the tremor in his movements.
He closed the lavatory door behind him, and Elise imagined him leaning against it, gathering himself. She didn’t know what to make of any of it—his reaction to the necklace, and now this overwhelming response to her grandmother’s photo.