Afterward he climbed the stairs. He stopped outside Tyler's door. There was light under it. He raised his hand to knock and then didn't. He stood with his palm flat against the wood.
"Tyler," he said, not loudly. "It's Dad."
Nothing. Then the light under the door went out.
Eric stood there a while longer. "I'm here," he said to the dark door. "Okay? That's all. I'm right here."
He did not know if Tyler heard him.
* * *
In the weeks that followed, the house learned a new way of being quiet.