Vivienne's POV
I learned his name on a Wednesday.
Not because he offered it. He wasn't the kind of man who offered things about himself freely. I had spent enough time in that restaurant watching him move through his work to understand that about him. He was careful with himself. Measured. Like someone who had learned at some point that giving people access to you was a thing that required consideration.
I learned his name because I asked.
He was refilling my water glass when I looked up from my phone and said simply, "What is your name?"
He paused. Just briefly. Like the question had landed somewhere unexpected.
"Charles," he said.
"Just Charles?"
"Charles Dick."
I turned the name over quietly. It wasn't a name that announced itself. It didn't carry the weight of old money or the
