The next morning Sophia called.
I was already awake, sitting on the edge of the bed with both hands wrapped around a cup of tea I had made in the small kettle by the window, watching the city outside do what it always did, move, breathe, go on. I had not slept well. The mattress was thin and the radiator had decided at some point in the night that it was done, and I had lain there in the dark for a long time just listening to myself breathe and trying to make the thinking stop long enough to rest.
I picked up on the first ring.
“I found you something,” Sophia said. No good morning, no how did you sleep. That was Sophia. She went straight to the thing. “Waitressing job. The restaurant is three blocks from you, mid-range, lunch and dinner service. My friend Marcus manages the floor there
