The Quiet Tenant

by Clémence Michallon

You open your arms.

I don't remember the first time I thought of the ending for The Quiet Tenant. I mean, I always knew how it would end, generally speaking, but I don't remember when I thought of the hug scene, specifically. But I do think that once I thought of it, I never looked back. I'm pretty sure this is the first and only time in the book that May actively chooses to make physical contact with another character. (I say "pretty sure", because even though I've read the novel dozens of times by now, I'm always scared to speak in absolutes. It's a journalism thing. If you speak in absolutes, your likelihood of being wrong increases dramatically.) I did wonder whether we should hear from Cecilia one last time. I can absolutely see how that would make sense. But I tried writing one last chapter from her point of view after Aidan's arrest, and it didn't quite work to have it at the end of the novel. It was jarring to hear Cecilia's point of view—that of a young girl who, at this point in the story, has barely begun to grasp what her dad is accused of—considering everything else that is happening in the novel at that same time. I believe that where an author chooses to end a story is very symbolic of what they are trying to say with that story. It made more sense, to me, to focus on this image—of two women hurt by Aidan in different way, finding some form of solace and support in each other. Plus, a big thing for May at the end of the book, and in the chapters leading to her escape, is her having to reckon with the fact that, in order to save herself, she is going to have to sever her bond with Cecilia. Cecilia's silence at the end of the book models that severance. May doesn't hear from Cecilia directly anymore, and neither do we. Having said all of this, I haven't given up on the idea of Cecilia's chapter one day becoming available to readers. Maybe as a bonus chapter of some sort? Is that something people would like to read?