Maria:
Noah is already there when I arrive.
He always is. Same seat, same posture—like he’s been waiting long enough to settle into it.
I slide into the chair across from him.
“Hi.”
“Hey.”
We smile. It lands, but something slips through it.
He looks at me a second longer than usual.
“You look tired.”
“I didn’t sleep much.”
“Because of me?”
I shake my head. “Just… a lot.”
He nods, but it’s not agreement. More like he’s placing that somewhere he’ll come back to.
We order. Routine does most of the talking. It helps, for a minute.
Then it doesn’t.
He leans back slightly, eyes still on me.
“You pause now.”
I frown. “What?”
“When you answer things. You stop first.”
I almost deny it. Almost.
Instead, I reach for my glass, take a sip I don’t need.
“I’ve always done that.”
“No
