ELENA
Two days.
Not cold — we had done cold before, in the early weeks, and this was not that. This was something more careful than cold. Civil. Professional. The particular politeness of two people who have said true things to each other and are now giving them room.
We ate at different times the first day. Not because we planned it — because I had a client session that ran late and he had a board meeting that went to seven. We passed each other in the kitchen at eight-fifteen and both moved around the counter with the precision of people who had learned each other's space.
"There's food," he said.
"I ate."
"Okay."
That was it. That was the day.
The second day was harder. We were both home for the evening and there was nowhere to be and nothing that legitimately required either of
