instead the absence of a thing

Yes. My thing today was my husband.

'Do you need a hand weeding?'
'No thanks, I'd rather be on my own'

Mainly as he'd been grumpy and making me anxious all morning! End of term stress, and I pick up on his energy which was NOT working well with my own.

So yes. Sometimes the pleasure is absolutely in the absence of things. A very clever response! Loved it, thankyou!