At some point I stopped counting down the minutes on my phone.

At some point I started arriving early.

I began bringing things, small things, fresh flowers for the sill because she loved to look at them, and dark chocolate truffles because I had learned on the second visit that they were her favorite, that her whole face lit up at the little paper bag the way a child’s does.

I started coming on days Arthur had not booked and would never know about, days I was not being paid for, just to sit with her while she dozed in the afternoon light, because the thought of her sitting alone in that room was one I could no longer stand.

I was still taking his money.