Don’t you know that love isn’t just going to bed? Love isn’t an act, it’s a whole life. It’s staying with her now because she needs you; it’s knowing you and she will still care...

What could he be thinking of? He seemed to be trying to remember something, perhaps an engagement, perhaps an excuse to leave her. For eventually, they all made some excuse.

And the bell jangled, the driver started. The bus whirled off, to the last stop, the lonely room, the lonely night.

And maybe, although it was a thing you could hardly bear to think about, like death or your last judgment, maybe he would be the last one ever and he would walk away now and...