“I’ll be back in a minute,” he promised. But the sound of the shower running and knowing that he was in it roused her from the dead, and she followed him into the bathroom a few minutes later, and stood under the pelting hot water with him. It felt good on their bodies.

“I might be too old for this,” she said to him, and he laughed.

“I can hardly stand up,” he said, and they both laughed. “Nice way to die though.” He leaned down and kissed her, and she fondled him. “If you touch me without feeding me first, I may just collapse here in the shower.” They managed to get out of the shower without making love again. He put a towel around his waist, and she put on a robe, then they walked to the kitchen, feeling better after the shower. “The bodyguards won’t walk in on us, will they?” he asked, concerned.

“One of them will come to sleep down here eventually, but they’re probably eating or watching TV or playing cards. The night guy doesn’t come down till later.” He was beginning to realize what a burden it was for her to be constantly surrounded by people, but she was going to have to live with it for the rest of her life. She would be a target forever, and probably had been for longer than they’d realized. It was hard to live like that on a daily basis and accept the restrictions on all the things she could no longer do, like drive herself or go to the grocery store alone, or run through her house naked if she wanted to. She was solitary but never alone.

He made her an excellent omelet, and they found some roast chicken, which Mike devoured ravenously. They went back to bed after that and lay talking once they turned out the light. There was so much they wanted to say and learn about each other. She drifted off to sleep while she was still talking to him, and he kissed her gently and rolled over on his side. He liked the feeling of her lying next to him, which was something he’d never enjoyed much before. He preferred spending his nights alone, and usually left as soon as possible after spending time with a woman. But he hadn’t loved any of them except Becky, and he did love Theo. Even after such a short time, he knew it.

He woke up before she did the next morning. It was a sunny day and the rioters had vanished in the night. He had heard sirens in the distance, until three a.m.—fire trucks and police cars and the riot police going back to their barracks, he assumed.