ALEXANDER
The office felt different when it was just the two of us. Less like a place of work, more like an extension of whatever life we were slowly building between meetings, reports, and responsibilities.
Faye was sitting on the couch across from my desk, slightly turned inward, her posture relaxed but distant in that familiar way I’d learned to recognize.
She wasn’t looking around or at anything in particular. Her attention was on her hands, fingers absentmindedly tracing small patterns over the fabric resting on her lap.
Circles. Lines. The same shapes, over and over.
She did that when her thoughts were louder than she wanted them to be.
I didn’t interrupt her right away. I just watched her for a moment longer than necessary, taking her in like I always did when she forgot she w
