Lighter, less armored, laughing in a way Ray hadn’t seen since Claire was alive. She touched Samuel’s arm when she spoke to him. Looked at Ray once, directly, with something that wasn’t quite warmth but was closer to it than she’d managed in years.
Ray drove home that night turning it over quietly and by the time he pulled into his driveway he’d reached a conclusion that felt, for the first time in a long time, like something close to relief. Maybe she was going to be alright. Samuel kept appearing after that — another dinner, a Sunday afternoon, a weekend trip they mentioned casually in passing.