COLE
Nova cancelled our check-in.
Not in person. By email. A two-line message sent at 6:30 AM, before the facility opened, when she knew I wouldn’t be at my phone to respond. *Schedule conflict. Rescheduling to next week. — Dr. Calloway.*
Dr. Calloway. Not Nova. Not Doc. The full title, typed out, followed by a period. The period was the tell. Nova didn’t use periods in her internal emails. I had read enough of her scheduling messages to know that. She used them in formal communications. Reports to the board. Correspondence with Victor’s office. Not with me. Not since the first week.
The period meant she was putting distance between us on purpose.
I noticed it the way you notice a teammate favoring a leg in warmups. Not because anyone pointed it out. Because the rhythm changed. The pa
