The suite emptied out.
Aunt Estella retired with a cup of tea, her bedroom door closing with a soft click. Arianne did a final check on the twins: door cracked, nightlight on, the whale propped against Leo's shoulder where he'd left it. When she came back down the hall, the main room was empty except for Franz, who was standing at the window with his hands in his pockets.
She knew that posture. She had seen it before, when something was sitting with him and he hadn't decided what to do with it yet. She didn't push.
She went to the bassinet, checked on Lexx, adjusted the blanket half a centimeter. Then she sat on the edge of the bed.
Franz stayed at the window for another minute. She watched his reflection in the glass: the set of his jaw, the way his shoulders weren't quite loose. Then he came and sat beside her.
The mattress dipped. Neither of them spoke. Below, the city moved on without them.
