章 239: Parting Gift

When Ivo woke up, Vice was gone.

It didn't surprise him, but part of him had hoped he was just imagining things. A fitful night of sleep hadn't put his worries to rest, and now this.

He found Davi in the living room, sitting on the sofa with a steaming mug of coffee. His eyes met Ivo's over the mug, clouded by vapour. "He left a note."

He nodded towards the rickety sidetable next to the sofa's arm. On the back of a utility bill Vice had scrawled: "Something came up. Had to dash. Love x2"

Ivo reread it twice, before crushing it in his fist. "That's it?"

"That's it."

He gazed out the window in silence. What could he say to voice the depth of his feelings? He was sad, and he was angry, and he was worried; all at once, and one at a time. 

"There's coffee in the thermos," Davi said, after a while. "Vice made it before leaving."