Elias fell asleep against my shoulder.

Rose sat beside us, carefully turning the pages because I had one arm occupied.

I looked around the modest living room.

Books sat in crooked stacks, a basket of clean laundry waited by the stairs, and a small stain marked the rug where somebody had spilled paint.

It was the most beautiful room I had seen in years.

When Hannah returned, she paused in the doorway.

Her face softened, then grew thoughtful.