Julian did not tell me right away. For a few days, he kept whatever he had found to himself, letting me move through the boutique and the house as if everything was the same. I noticed the shift in him almost immediately. His replies were slower. His eyes lingered on things in the room without really seeing them. He still asked about my day, but the way he listened felt like he was only half in the conversation, the other half working through something in his head.

I didn’t push. Over the ...