The café had two entrances. Delia stood inside the wrong one for several minutes before seeing Soren through the window at the other end, looking toward the car park. She went outside and walked around the building. He turned when she called his name. For a moment neither of them moved closer. “I was inside,” …
Russell arrived at four with no box of his own. Delia had not expected him to bring one, but the sight of his empty hands still irritated her. She had packed the books, carried them to the door, and spent three weeks stepping around them. He only had to take them away. “Here,” she said. …
Soren called while Delia was looking for her work shoes. One was under the bed, where she must have kicked it yesterday. The other was exactly where she had left both of them by the door, which seemed like an accusation. “Morning,” she said, sitting down to put them on. “Morning. Have you got a …
The cinema clock was seven minutes slow. Delia noticed because she had checked the time on her phone just before coming in, and because Soren was looking at the clock with an expression that suggested seven minutes might matter. “Have I come at a bad time?” she asked. “No. I’m nearly done.” He stood behind …
In the morning, Delia could not find one sock. She found the other beside the bed, her watch on the chair, and her top hanging from the edge of the overnight bag. The missing sock had apparently left the building. Soren, watching her search from the bed, suggested it might have joined the projection equipment …
The overnight bag looked too small when Delia set it beside the cinema door. She had packed for one night, then removed a spare sweater, then put it back. Now she wanted to take the bag to her car and arrive carrying nothing at all, as though the visit had happened by accident. Soren opened …
By Thursday, Delia had three versions of the proposal and no version of the conversation in which Devon had asked her to write one that sounded as casual as she wanted it to. He had caught her on Sunday morning, her first shift back after leave, while she was checking a stack of visitor cards. …
Soren emerged from the parking garage with his jacket over one shoulder and the expression of a man who had been personally insulted by a machine. “Did you find it?” Delia asked. “Eventually. There’s a sign that points left. Left is a wall.” “The ramp is just before the wall.” “I know that now.” He …
Russell was already at the café. He had chosen the table near the window where they used to sit, and he stood when he saw her, half rising into an embrace that she had not offered. Delia placed her bag on the empty chair beside her. “Hello.” He lowered himself again. “You look well.” “I’ve …
The suitcase shut on the third try. Delia had brought too many clothes and somehow needed more room to take the same clothes home. She knelt on the lid, worked the zipper past a fold of cardigan, and heard the small, satisfying click of its two ends meeting. Outside, a car door closed. She stayed …
