Relief coursed through her at his answer and drowned out the melancholy. Shoulders slack with it, her thin eyelids fluttered closed a second. "Good," she breathed, as if the word were delicate enough to break with its speaking. But after it survived its birth, there came a lightness to the alien woman's demeanor. She looked at Eric with different eyes, then.
"Show me your home," she said. "We can start tonight."
She was wide awake. And although she knew she would need to visit apartment 5 soon, tonight she would leave the two to themselves. It was better for them -- and for her.