Excerpt from Late in the Day by Tessa Hadley, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

— I have to hurry. I don't know if she's at the hospital alone.

— The cab's not here yet, wait. Listen.

It seemed artificial and forced, waiting until the music was over. Her thoughts were racing and she couldn't hear it, hated its offer of complexity and beauty. Then she began to yield, under the steady weight of his hands, to the violin and piano and cello as they went hastening to their finish. They unlocked something clenched inside her. She realised that her arms were hugged across her chest as if she were protecting herself, or holding herself tightly shut; at least they hadn't put on the lamps in the room. They held each other. There were tears on Alex's face, he cried easily. He had a gift for ceremonies which she didn't have, they embarrassed her. Now this moment felt ceremonial, and her consciousness hushed and paused. She thought directly about Zachary for the first time, the reality of him. But that wasn't bearable.

— Let me come with you to the hospital, Alex said. — I'll drive you.

Christine thought about it. — No, it's best if I go alone. If it's just the two of us, at first. I'll bring her here. You could make up the bed for her

Excerpted from Late in the Day by Tessa Hadley. Copyright © 2019 by Tessa Hadley. Excerpted by permission of Harper. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.