It need not be said that this was a situation to which Evander was entirely unused. The most long-standing relationship he had had in his life was with his own habits; there was not a day that passed without undertaking a dozen usual routines, and no day in his recent memory that had shaken off the dust of his life quite like this one. He had accounted for the disruption of a honeymoon, to be sure, but somehow Evander had expected... well, for there to be a wedding, and then for his life to settle back in order, much as it had used to be. Most certainly with the addition of Caroline in it: but he had not previously considered that he would have to oblige her habits where they did not match his.
That to say, he would have been quite satisfied to lie in silence and shut his eyes and pretend to sleep, even if her continued closeness in the bed was distraction enough to wreak havoc on the onset of sleep. Caroline, however, was apparently wide awake, and Evander loosened his hold on her a touch to look better at her. He eyed her warily, wondering whether it would be overscrupulous of him to remind her that they had an early start tomorrow, if they were to finish seeing Paris before they moved on to the next city. He couldn’t fathom how she still had energy, after the whole stressful day, and after that – but he didn’t want to disappoint her, so, for her sake, he managed a slow, indulgent smile. “And what would you have us do instead?”
That to say, he would have been quite satisfied to lie in silence and shut his eyes and pretend to sleep, even if her continued closeness in the bed was distraction enough to wreak havoc on the onset of sleep. Caroline, however, was apparently wide awake, and Evander loosened his hold on her a touch to look better at her. He eyed her warily, wondering whether it would be overscrupulous of him to remind her that they had an early start tomorrow, if they were to finish seeing Paris before they moved on to the next city. He couldn’t fathom how she still had energy, after the whole stressful day, and after that – but he didn’t want to disappoint her, so, for her sake, he managed a slow, indulgent smile. “And what would you have us do instead?”
