He asked for one hour.
The request came by text, which I had not expected, having assumed he would call. Maybe he understood that a call gave me less time to prepare a response, and he was no longer in the business of minimizing my preparation time. The text was brief. *One hour. No lawyers, no Marco, no Ethan. Somewhere public if you prefer. I have something to say and I’d like to say it to your face.*
I read it twice. Then I replied with a coffee shop two blocks from the hospital and a time on Sunday afternoon when Ethan would be with his friend Oliver and I would have no professional obligations and no excuse that was not simply the truth, which was that I was not certain I was ready.
I went anyway.
-----
The coffee shop was busy enough that we were not conspicuous and quiet enough
