 Why did Edith greet her husband the way she did when he returned home?
Edith was leading him into the living room, her hand lying still in his, a cool, dead bird lying still in his. He and Edith sat beside each other, and he wanted badly to take her in his arms, and yet he didn't want to oppress her. Which was not what he'd considered at all important on leaving Walter Reed Hospital early this morning; which was something he found distasteful, something he felt beneath them both. And Edith herself had always chatted, especially with his mother, though they didn't agree about much. He was sitting directly across from Mother, and reached out and touched her left hand which lay limply beside the silverware.
 In some ways, he was not the man who had left and she was nervous about the change.
 She was upset that Henry had not been there for their son for some time.  She was nervous because she had not seen him in almost a year.  In some ways, he was not the man who had left and she was nervous about the change.  She had met another man and did not know how to tell Henry about him.