Louis and Tawny sat in silence at the dinner table the next day. Louis gave Tawny a look of relief and gratitude as he could feel the radiance emanating from her face once more. She had put the events of the other night past her remarkably quickly. She had returned to all her other work after announcing, with a heavy heart, her resignation from the editorial collective. She had found her strength and inspiration in him once more, as he could tell just from the look in her eyes, the look that filled him with strength and inspiration in turn. It was back to how it had always been.
Tawny gave Louis an affectionate look. She needed to look no further to feel it. Louis was giving back just by being there, just by being Louis. It was simple, really, she had told herself. All they had to do was keep trusting each other, trusting their love and its power to always give back. As they always had.
"Thank you, Tawny," Louis finally said. "There's really nothing else that I can say. Thank you for not letting me get in the way of your work. And for always giving me so much, in spite of everything I've made you give up."
Tawny smiled. "There's really no need to thank me, Louis," she said. "Don't forget that you're the most important part of my life. You always have been. It wasn't a sacrifice that I made but a gift that I gave, Louis. A gift that I know will always keep giving back, because that's what you are to me."
Louis just stared into Tawny's eyes, transfixed. The power of all that she said was suddenly too much. A gift that will always keep giving back… But he knew that there was no way he could truly give back all that she had given him. No, not this time.
Tawny smiled again. She knew from the look in his eyes that she had to shake him out of his captivation. "Come, let's go take a walk in the park before it gets late," she said, placing her hand on his shoulder.
It took him a moment for her words to sink in. Of course – it was time for their daily walk after dinner. Their first after the events of the other night. It was back to how it had always been, after all. Yet he couldn't help but feel a lingering sense of disquiet, after all that had happened in between. He grasped Tawny's hand tightly as they headed out, seeking reassurance in the fact that they were together.