Would you maybe give us his phone number?” John raised his eyebrows hopefully, “I just need to ask him. If he really saw nothing I won't bother him or you ever again, but if he did I would like to know what he saw. Is that okay with you?”
The woman nodded and vanished within her flat only to re-emerge a few moments later with a small note that had a phone number written on it. She held it out to John, but quickly pulled her hand back.
“I don't understand why you need to speak to him. They caught the man that did it,” the woman said hesitantly.
“It's personal,” Clara explained to her, “The man who died that night, he was a friend. We just want to know what really happened.”
She felt John squeeze her hand a little tighter and she understood it as a thank you for being here with him, for speaking when he was lost for words.
Finally the woman handed the note to Clara, smiling weakly. “Then I hope you find what you're looking for,” she said.
“Thank you,” Clara replied kindly.
John only nodded, a grateful but weak smile on his lips.
“Thank you,” John said to Clara after they had left the building. He closed his arms around her in a tight embrace and kissed her hair, “I couldn't have done this without you. What you've done for me I can never repay.”
“You could try,” she whispered, tightening her grip around his chest, “You could start with not letting me go.”
“Clara,” he sighed heavily, swaying her in their hug.
She remained silent as they walked back to the main street and took a taxi to fetch their bags and bring them to the train station. Clara refused his offer to have lunch before they left, not feeling particularly hungry. John kissed her again in the taxi and on the platform and once again after they had taken her seat and she was starting to regret asking him to pretend that everything was fine. With every time their lips touched she knew she would only miss him more when the kisses stopped. She rested her head against his arm, holding his hand throughout the entire ride home, drifting in and out of sleep and fighting back tears. Clara vowed not to cry. Not in front of John. It would only make him feel worse and that was the last thing that Clara wanted.