The Whole Truth And Nothing But The Truth

The hour for dinner came and went. Elsie put the leftovers in the fridge. She stayed with Kira in the living room till ten o’clock, then she gave up and went to bed. Kira watched a re-run of a nineties sitcom, yawning. At eleven thirty pm, Seinfeld waved goodbye to her from the screen. Kira shut off the TV. Austyn was still not back. Her eyelids drooped. She managed to climb upstairs. When she came out of the bathroom after brushing her teeth, she sat on the sofa, planning to crack open a textbook. But the words started swimming together. She dozed off. Austyn came home after midnight. He pushed open the bedroom door and saw Kira straight away. She was slouched on the sofa, head lolling back. A trace of drool hung from the corner of her mouth. An open textbook lay on her lap. Austyn shook his head, amused. The bed was less than five feet away. He’d noticed this strange habit of hers for some time—she could read her book sitting at a desk, in an armchair or on a sofa, but never in bed.