She said something to that effect. That he had... passed from her.

[ She can have some tact, at least a little. She wouldn't make light of it, it was a pain she knew well. To have someone there, every day, and then go. ]

I told her that it should mean she put away her inhibitions rather than hang onto them, but she would not listen to me.

[ The tone is that of a grouching grandmother, clucking over silly chicks. They were, to her. Young and foolish and bound up and comprehending but not yet understanding what it was to have that which could be fleeting. ]