He was quiet for a moment.
“You won’t be again,” he said. Not a promise performed for effect. Just a fact.
And I believed him.
—
The food arrived and was, apparently, excellent, based on Gideon’s expression.
He had not expected it to be excellent.
“You look surprised,” I said.
“I didn’t vet the recommendation.”
“You told the waiter to recommend something and then trusted them.”
“In retrospect, reckless.”
“Gideon. It’s pasta.”
“Unvetted pasta.”
“Is this what being you is like all the time?” I asked. “Everything assessed for threat level including dinner recommendations?”
He considered this with the gravity it apparently deserved. “Less so recently,” he said. “You’ve somewhat been a disrupting influence.”
“I’m going to take that as a compliment.”
“It was definitely meant
