For a week, Rowan and I lived around each other rather than with each other.
We spoke when we needed to. We shared the kitchen without making conversation. I started knocking before entering our room if I knew he was inside. He didn't tell me I had to.
I was careful not to let my carefulness become a performance.
At first, I thought if I gave him enough space, he would come toward me. That thought made the space feel like a strategy, so I had to let it go. Rowan didn't owe me a reward for behaving decently.
I kept editing the theater piece. The station had planned to play it during the end-of-semester broadcast, and I didn't want the project to become another reason for us to talk before Rowan was ready. I finished the cut, sent it to the producer, and didn't ask Rowan what he thought.
