“I only meant, shall I go away or would you rather I didn’t? Because, you see, you can be a trifle confusing sometimes. For a simple man. And I made up my mind I wouldn’t give you any more cause to be unhappy. Or to despise yourself. I was going away to give you time without me here, looming over you constantly and trying to sweep you off your feet. And to give me time as well, to think . . . about my life. And also in hopes that absence would make the heart grow fonder. Not my heart, because if mine were any fonder it would explode or melt or disintegrate in some fashion.”
