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I walked into the sitting room to find an unusual, if not wholly unexpected sight. Danny and Beatrice were sitting near the fire, Beatrice on the sofa and Danny in an armchair close by. They were talking quietly and only looked up when one of the floorboards creaked beneath my foot.
“Stay where you are.” Danny was eyeing me with a mixture of amusement and exasperation.
“Why?”
“Your apron.”
I looked down and realised I had once again forgotten to take it off. The paint on it was mostly dry, but I nonetheless turned around to go change. No paints near the furniture had become a rule in our household for a reason. I returned to them in clean clothes and sat on the sofa next to Beatrice, drawing up my legs and curling up against her.
“It’s bloody cold in my studio,” I said. “And you two haven’t exactly looked after the fire either. It’s almost out.”
They both looked at me with an odd, self-conscious expression.
“We only just remembered to put on another log,” Beatrice said. She held out a hand and I gave her mine, sighing as she held it between both of hers to warm my fingertips. Danny got to her feet and stoked the fire. When she was done, she did not turn back to her armchair.
“Move over,” she said gruffly.
I moved my legs and she joined us on the sofa, drawing my feet onto her lap. Thus sandwiched between her and Beatrice, their warmth spread from my hands and feet to the rest of my body. I put my head on Beatrice’s shoulder. Beatrice was staring into the fire, far removed from her usual chatty self.
“How is he?” I asked.
“It varies.” She let out a shaky breath and squeezed my hand. “He’s a bit more stable today so he insisted I come and see you both.”
“Please send him all our love,” I said.
“I really should be getting back soon.”
“We know,” Danny said quietly. “But you should take a few more minutes to rest.”
The two of them shared a look. They had found a new kind of understanding with each other in the past few months, the kind of companionship that sometimes accompanies a shared loss. There was no need to say anything else. I sat up and put an arm around Beatrice, drawing her closer until her head was on my shoulder. I held her and stroked her hair, while Danny leaned against me on my other side, holding my other hand. The fire had grown now, bringing new warmth into the room, but we did not move. Beyond the silence of the sitting room, the tide was coming in. The waves crashed against the cliffs just below our little house, while we sat still and rested, holding each other together.