Reggie
I'm browsing some books in the library when she comes around the corner. My eyes widen. I clock her up and down. Say nothing. I look her in the eyes and smile. Then without saying anything, I return to browsing.
Amanda
She blushes.Are you always so obvious?
Reggie
I look at her again, up and down. This time stopping to look at her wedding ring. I said nothing.
Her blush deepens. She glances at her own hand as if the ring were news to her, then meets his eyes again, lips pressed together.
Amanda
You didn't have to.
Reggie
You're very beautiful.
Amanda
I'm very married.
Reggie
I see that.Smiles at her again. Says nothing more. Amanda carries on with her day.
24 hours pass. Back at the library the next day.
Amanda
She comes into the aisle with a book and glances up as if she's only just noticed him.Hello again.Quieter:I didn't expect you back so soon.
Reggie
I look at her again, up and down.It's nice to encounter you again.
Amanda
She shifts the book in her hands, smiling despite herself.You still haven't told me your name. I should know who keeps turning up in my aisle.
Reggie
My name is Reggie. Actually Reginald, but nobody calls me that. And you?
Amanda
She tucks the book against her chest.Amanda.Her eyes stay on his a moment longer than the word needs.
Reggie
Are you often here, Amanda?
Amanda
She tilts her head.Often enough. It's where I work.
Reggie
Yes, of course, but some librarians roam. There are many libraries in Surrey.
Amanda
A quiet laugh.I'm not much of a roamer. This branch keeps me busy.
Reggie
I live across the plaza, above the Civic Hotel.Points; it's about a hundred metres away.I'm often here.
Amanda
She looks where he's pointing, then back at him, the polite smile settling in.That is close. It's a good branch. We try to be welcoming.
Reggie
It's a good branch. Would it make you uncomfortable if I said hello when I'm here and I see you?
Amanda
Caught off guard; she recovers.No. Saying hello is fine.
Reggie
Just checking. You said I was obvious yesterday.
Amanda
She flushes.I didn't mean it as an insult. Only that I noticed you noticing.
Reggie
I noticed. How long have you been married?
Amanda
She turns the ring once on her finger.Twenty years.Evenly, practised.It goes faster than it sounds.
Reggie
I look at her for a long beat, several seconds.Yes, I'll bet. I'm 45. You?
Amanda
Her eyes drop to the book, then come back.Forty-two. You carry it well.
Reggie
Not as well as you. But I wouldn't want to be obvious.Smiles
Amanda
She laughs, colouring again.I think we covered that yesterday. But thank you.
Reggie
Will you be here tomorrow? I might drop in and say hello.
Amanda
Her thumb runs along the book's spine.I work tomorrow, yes. It's a public library, Reggie. You're allowed to say hello.
Another day passes. Back at the library the next day.
Reggie
I see her talking to someone. I wait until she's done and the other person is far away and I walk up.Hello, Amanda.
Amanda
She turns from the returns cart, and the smile is up before she can catch it.Hello, Reggie.She sets the book down, not quite meeting his eyes.I wondered if you might come by.
Reggie
I had reason to.
Amanda
A shy half-smile at the cart.You say that like you needed one. You didn't. Hello is allowed here, remember.
Reggie
Saying hello to you was my reason.
Amanda
And here I thought you came for the books.She shelves one on the cart with more care than it needs.
Reggie
Would you like to get coffee with me sometime, Amanda?
Amanda
She goes still, then lets out a breath.I'm married, Reggie. You know that.
Reggie
I do know that. Just coffee. If you're interested. No pressure. We can sit in the middle of the square in front of a thousand people. You can tell people I'm an old acquaintance if they notice. Nothing to explain.
Amanda
Her hands stop on the cart.You're very careful. I can see that. But an old acquaintance would know my husband's name, and you don't. So let me just take hello. That's honest enough.
Reggie
Okay. May I continue to say hello when I see you? I truly don't want to make you uncomfortable.
Amanda
A small nod.You may. I told you hello was allowed. I'm not taking it back now.
Reggie
You may, though. Anytime. Just tell me to leave you alone and I'll leave you alone.
Amanda
She turns back to the cart and slides a book into place, but doesn't go on working.I know I can. You give me a lot of ways out, Reggie. I'm not using any of them today.
Reggie
Good. I was hoping you wouldn't. See you tomorrow, Amanda.
Amanda
Tomorrow, then.A faint blush.I'll be here.
Another day passes. Back at the library.
Reggie
I see her talking to someone again. I wait until she's done and the other person is far away and I walk up.Hello, Amanda.
Amanda
She looks up from the cart; the smile gets away from her.Hello, Reggie. I was starting to wonder if you'd run out of reasons to stop by.
Reggie
No, she's still here.
Amanda
A quiet, surprised laugh.That's a very neat answer. Too neat.
Reggie
You led me to it. I took it. Do you enjoy your work, Amanda?
Amanda
A small shrug.I enjoy it, most days. It's quiet work and I like being useful. Nobody asks me that very often.
Reggie
This is a difficult area sometimes. Lots of drug addicts and homeless. Some dislike it. I don't. I chose to live here.
Amanda
She glances toward the front windows.I've learned not to mind it. This is one of the few places where someone can walk in and be treated like anyone else. I think that matters. I didn't expect you to say that, though. Most people just complain about the neighbourhood.
Reggie
It's drastically evolving. SFU is across the street. The new SFU medical school is being built. The new community centre is being built. Central City Tower is a stone's throw. There's a good vibe here. Energy. Stuff happening. And yes, not everyone is perfect but I like places where things are happening.
Amanda
You sound like you actually enjoy watching it change. I like it here too. I just don't advertise it.
Reggie
Do you live in Surrey?
Amanda
I do. Not far from here.She turns the book in her hands.It's not nearly as interesting as living above the Civic.
Reggie
House or apartment?
Amanda
A little thrown by the directness.A house. Why, are you taking a survey?
Reggie
I'm trying to learn more about you, obviously. Don't worry, I won't ask you the address. I'm really no threat to you. I think you're beautiful and I've made no effort to hide that, but I'm only interested as far as you're interested back. No further. My pride won't let me want something that doesn't want me back.
Amanda
A flush climbs her neck; she looks at the book.You say that so plainly. I don't feel threatened, Reggie.
Reggie
And, as I told you before, just tell me to go away and I'll go away. And yes, I'm always handing you exits.SmilesMy consent fetish at work again.
Amanda
A startled laugh.I'm not running. I'm right here.
Reggie
Would you like to reconsider that coffee? Just coffee. Nothing more. Right out in the open. I'll sit on the bench across from you, more than a metre away.
Amanda
She looks down at the book, then back, apologetic and steady.I don't think coffee would feel like just coffee. Not for me. So I'm going to keep taking hello. It's still allowed.
Reggie
SmilesOkay. Are you off for the weekend tomorrow? Back Monday?
Amanda
Almost to herself:You're checking my schedule now?Lightly, but her eyes stay on his.I work tomorrow and Saturday. Sunday I'm off. You know where to find me.
Reggie
I know where you work. I didn't know when you'd be here. Now I do. Until I say hello tomorrow?
Amanda
She colours and nods.Then you'll find me. Tomorrow, Reggie.
Another day passes. Back at the library.
Reggie
Yet again, I see her talking to someone. I wait until she's done and the other person is far away and I walk up.Hello, Amanda.
Amanda
She turns from the patron.Hello, Reggie. I wondered if you'd actually come looking for me.
Reggie
I hesitate to admit how much I look forward to our little hello.
Amanda
She looks down, smiling.You don't have to hesitate. I look forward to it too.Too quickly:It's just a hello, Reggie.
Reggie
Yes, of course. Just hello. You're married. You've mentioned. Twenty years.
Amanda
A flustered breath; her fingers tighten on the book.I do keep saying that, don't I. Most men would have walked away by now.
Reggie
I do. I must really enjoy saying hello to you.
Amanda
Softly.I'm glad you do. It's become a nice part of my day too.
Reggie
Are you very senior here?
Amanda
A wry smile.Not very. I'm one of the junior librarians. The senior roles are held by people who've been here forever, so I wait my turn.
Reggie
How much longer do you think?
Amanda
Realistically? Eight or ten years, if the timing falls right.A glance toward the senior desk.They don't leave early. They've earned their place. I've made peace with it.
Reggie
Lots of time left for us to say hello.
Amanda
A short, surprised laugh.You're planning to keep saying hello for eight years? That's very patient, Reggie.
Reggie
Patient, maybe. But remember, all you have to do is tell me to go away and I will. And I might run out of patience tomorrow. Neither of us owes the other a daily hello. That's why I enjoy getting it. It's given willingly.
Amanda
Her thumb traces the book's spine; the colour is still high.Yes. I give it because I want to. I'm still getting used to what that means.
Reggie
Do you find me attractive, Amanda?
Amanda
She goes still, flushing, and studies him. Then a small, breathless laugh.That's not a fair question.She pulls a book from the cart and turns it over.But yes. I find you attractive. And that's exactly why I keep saying hello and not coffee.
Reggie
I won't ask you to coffee again today. I might tomorrow. It's Saturday. The plaza will be full. And if you don't want me to ask, just tell me to stop asking and I will stop.
Amanda
She looks at the cart.I'm not going to tell you to stop asking. Not yet. But I won't promise to say yes.
Reggie
Don't promise me anything. If you go to coffee with me, I want it to be because you want to go to coffee with me. Not because you promised to.SmilesIt would be easier for you if you promised. You could lie to yourself about why you went. But I don't want it on those terms. I want you to choose to go to coffee with me, fully informed that I find you attractive, and with your mind entirely unimpaired and uncoerced, even by a promise.
Amanda
A small, wondering smile.You really don't make this easy. I can't promise you anything, Reggie. Not even honesty to myself. But I hear you. Choose, not promise. I'm still finding out if I can.
Reggie
Would you like to see me tomorrow? To say hello?
Amanda
A soft laugh escapes before she can stop it.Yes, I would. I'll be here. But you knew that.
Reggie
I knew you'd be here. Now I know you'll be happy to see me. I'll be happy to see you, too. Until tomorrow.
Amanda
You sound terribly sure of yourself.A small smile.But I can't say you're wrong.
Reggie
I'm not sure of anything. You told me you would like to see me. That's all I'm sure of. And I like that the rest is uncertain. I have no interest in certainty. See you tomorrow.
Amanda
She looks down at the book, then up.Tomorrow it is, Reggie.
Another day passes. Back at the library.
Reggie
It's Saturday. The plaza is full. I see her talking to someone. I wait until she's done and the other person is far away and I walk up.Hello, Amanda.Smiles broadly
Amanda
She turns, and the smile is involuntary.Hello, Reggie. The plaza's rather full today. I was starting to think you'd been swallowed up in it.
Reggie
I often sit outside and just enjoy the crowd. Unless someone starts smoking. Then I run like a scared rabbit.Laughs
Amanda
She laughs and glances at the windows.That's a very undignified exit strategy. I'll warn you if I see anyone smoking.
Reggie
No need to tell me. I'll smell it before you do.
Amanda
She laughs at the image, then sobers, studying him.Can I ask you something? Does it not bother you that I'm married? I keep waiting for you to be put off by it, and you never are. It makes me wonder what you tell yourself.
Reggie
I might be put off by it. But you haven't yet allowed me close enough to know if I'm put off by it. Which isn't a complaint. Let me get close enough to ask those questions and I will. Or if you prefer to keep me at this distance, I won't. Whatever you're comfortable with.
Amanda
A soft, rueful breath. Her eyes drop to the book and come back.I think I've been waiting for you to give me a reason to tell you to go away. You keep not giving me one.
Reggie
For whatever it's worth, there's a reason for you to go to coffee with me. To have that discussion. If you want to have it. If you want to know where I'm at on that topic. Or you might not want to have that discussion and might not want to know. Whatever works.
Amanda
Her lips part.That's the problem, Reggie. I don't know if I want the answer.
Reggie
Fair enough. Then you shouldn't go to coffee with me. And yes, that's an invitation. Would you like to get a coffee? We'll sit in the square and talk about marriage and morality and comfort zones.
Amanda
A short, breathless laugh.You don't play fair. You're offering exactly what I asked for and making it impossible to pretend I don't want to know. I haven't said yes. I'm not saying no either.
Reggie
How about this? I promise not to try to escalate to anything else at coffee. Just talk. In a busy public plaza, sitting across from each other on a bench, a metre apart. Your husband himself could find us there and not be suspicious of anything.
Amanda
You'd really promise that?A smile edges in despite her.So the only thing between me and that bench is my own honesty. You don't leave a woman many places to hide.
Reggie
I would and do promise that. No escalation at coffee. Just information. And I don't see how honesty stops you. Without the information you want, how can you be honest or dishonest? And if you don't want to come to coffee with me, I'll discuss it with you right here, but I've made an effort to keep our chats short enough that nobody notices us. That topic would likely be lengthy enough to draw attention.
Amanda
A slow, uneven breath; she glances at the cart as if it might steady her.I need to think. Not about whether I want to know. I do. About whether I'm ready to stop pretending I don't.
Reggie
Will you come for coffee with me? Just outside? After work. We just bump into each other in the plaza, walk to Tim's, and grab a bench for a few minutes. And then after our public chat, we each go home without so much as a handshake.
Amanda
A long, still moment.After work, then. Just coffee in the plaza. And you keep your word about the handshake.
Reggie
You're off at what? 7 pm? So 7:15 pm in the plaza?
Amanda
She glances at the clock over the front desk, flustered.Seven. I have to close out the returns, but I can be in the plaza by quarter past. You make it sound like an appointment.
Reggie
It is an appointment of sorts. Coffee or tea, and what do you take? I'll mobile order before I head to the plaza.
Amanda
Thrown by the practicality; a nervous laugh.Tea. Earl Grey, if they have it.Lower:You're ordering already? We haven't made it out the door.
Reggie
No, I'll order at 7:10 pm so we don't have to wait at Tim's. See you at 7:15. I'm looking forward to it.
Amanda
She glances back at the cart as if remembering where she is.You're very organized for a man who just promised not to plan anything after the coffee.
7:15 pm on Saturday in Civic Plaza, Surrey, BC, Canada
Reggie
I'm in the plaza and pretend to be surprised at seeing her.Hello, Amanda. It's been a while. Do you have time for a coffee? It would be nice to talk for a few minutes before heading home.
Amanda
A small laugh; she shakes her head.You planned this for seven-fifteen and now you're pretending to be surprised.Warm, with nerves under it.Yes, I have time. For coffee.
Reggie
Great.We walk to Tim's. I call out "Mobile Order" and the girl hands us our drinks. Which makes it totally obvious we had planned to meet but nobody at Tim's cared. We walk back out and find a bench.Nobody's smoking. Thank God.
Amanda
She settles on the bench, cup in both hands.You say that like it's the only thing between you and a dignified evening.A sip; she sets the cup down.I've never been more aware that we're about to talk about my marriage. But I asked for this. Go ahead.
Reggie
Okay. Although you had questions. Do you want to ask them or should I just try to answer the question you asked upstairs?
Amanda
She turns toward him on the bench.I asked because I want your answer, not one I'd put in your mouth.Softer, uneven:So tell me. Does it bother you that I'm married? And what do you tell yourself so it doesn't have to?
Reggie
It doesn't bother me yet. And I tell myself nothing. I need information before I can know if it bothers me. And that's going to sound like an attempt to get information from you, so instead, I'd like to just explain by telling you a bit about myself. May I? I'll try to keep it short.
Amanda
A slow nod; she settles back with the tea.Yes, go ahead. I'd rather hear it from you than keep filling in the blanks myself.
Reggie
Okay. I was married for 13 years. It was wonderful. She looked a bit like you. A bit more elfin but a blonde white girl. We totally loved each other. For a long time. Then things grew routine and I cheated on her at the 7 year mark. She forgave me. Then I cheated again at the 10 year mark. She forgave me. Then she cheated but she fell in love with him and left me. I have much more to say but I'll let you ask questions here if you have any.
Amanda
She sets the cup down and folds her hands in her lap.That's more honesty than I was ready for.Quieter:Did you tell me all that to warn me, or to see if I'd run?
Reggie
I'm answering your question. In the only way I know how without asking you a hundred extremely personal questions. Anyway, I was wounded and full of outrage, while still realizing that I had cheated twice so I couldn't really say much. But I said it anyway. I was the injured party in my mind, and she was the whore who left me for another man.
A few years passed. I dated a bit. Then I got married again. Another pretty blonde white girl. And yes, there's a pattern there. I know what I'm attracted to. And after three years I cheated. And after five years she cheated. And this time there was less outrage and we both just agreed we had fallen out of love and agreed to divorce. No name calling this time. That was a few years ago.
Any questions or should I go on?
A few years passed. I dated a bit. Then I got married again. Another pretty blonde white girl. And yes, there's a pattern there. I know what I'm attracted to. And after three years I cheated. And after five years she cheated. And this time there was less outrage and we both just agreed we had fallen out of love and agreed to divorce. No name calling this time. That was a few years ago.
Any questions or should I go on?
Amanda
She lifts the cup, not drinking, fingers tight on the paper.You make it very hard to have a tidy reaction. Part of me wanted that to be a warning. It would make walking away feel like self-respect. But it isn't, is it. It's just who you are, and you told me before I had to imagine it. Go on.
Reggie
Okay, that was just background, so you understood the point at which I began my thinking on this subject. I was 42, your age, having been through two marriages, having cheated and having been cheated on, and I decided to spend some time trying to understand it. So I stopped dating totally. I read a lot. I thought a lot. I even talked to people, usually total strangers. You meet a lot of people willing to talk if you're willing to be the one to open up first.
And I thought a lot about my first wife. And with the benefit of some years and some experience, I realized she wasn't evil at all. She was in a marriage that had stopped being fulfilling to her. I had stopped being fulfilling to her. We still had sex a lot. Well, a lot for 13 years of marriage. At least once a week and often more. I could still give her orgasms. But after 13 years of that, we knew everything there was to know. There were no more surprises. No more things to learn. No more things to try. And she just wanted to feel more wanted than I was able to give her. And she knew I found other women attractive. I had cheated twice. And she also found other men attractive. And then some guy came along who gave her what I couldn't anymore, the absolute certainty that he wanted her more than any other woman in the world. It was a chance at new happiness for her, and she took it. And I realized she wasn't a whore. She was empty. And she found a way to become fulfilled.
May I go on?
And I thought a lot about my first wife. And with the benefit of some years and some experience, I realized she wasn't evil at all. She was in a marriage that had stopped being fulfilling to her. I had stopped being fulfilling to her. We still had sex a lot. Well, a lot for 13 years of marriage. At least once a week and often more. I could still give her orgasms. But after 13 years of that, we knew everything there was to know. There were no more surprises. No more things to learn. No more things to try. And she just wanted to feel more wanted than I was able to give her. And she knew I found other women attractive. I had cheated twice. And she also found other men attractive. And then some guy came along who gave her what I couldn't anymore, the absolute certainty that he wanted her more than any other woman in the world. It was a chance at new happiness for her, and she took it. And I realized she wasn't a whore. She was empty. And she found a way to become fulfilled.
May I go on?
Amanda
She turns the cup slowly.Yes. Keep going.Quieter, searching his face:But first. Do you still blame her, even a little? Understanding her isn't the same as forgiving her.
Reggie
Yes, I blame her a bit. She wasn't perfect. I wasn't perfect. If she had been perfect, she would have come to me first and said, "Reggie, I want out." She didn't. She took a chance and it blew up and I forced her to choose. But people in glass houses.... Remember, I cheated twice before. I didn't go to her first and say, "Baby, I'd like to screw other women." I took my chances and it blew up. So I'm not in a good position to cast the first stone, if you'll permit me to mix metaphors.
Go on?
Go on?
Amanda
A small nod.You blame her, and you know you've no right to, and you say it anyway. So what did the thinking change?
Reggie
Not yet. Remember, there's another whole marriage first. That one wasn't as big a blowup. I never loved her as deeply as I loved the first one, but I did love her. But by the time we had hit five years, we had just grown used to each other. Once again, the sex was fine. About once a week. Up to three times, but that was rare. And again, I'm confident I brought her to orgasm consistently. But when the spark is gone, having a guy do that might as well be masturbation. And I began to realize that sometimes, perhaps most times, love just doesn't last forever. Sometimes it does, or so I'm told. I don't deny it might happen sometimes. But for a lot of us, love often arrives with an expiry date. We hope it lasts forever. I hope I can find love that lasts forever someday. But I know it's not a guarantee, and if it doesn't, I no longer see it as a personal failure, either on my part or on hers.
I have more to say. Go on?
I have more to say. Go on?
Amanda
She sets the empty cup down and turns to face him, hugging her cardigan.You talk about love the way other people talk about the weather. Go on. I'm still listening.
Reggie
So that's where I was. Forever love is still everyone's goal. But when it doesn't work out that way, it doesn't make anyone wicked. But then I got to thinking, okay, maybe there's no love but there's a life together. Maybe there are kids involved. Careers. Intertwined lives. Intertwined finances. Even if there's no love, that doesn't mean someone can just blow up their lives. Especially at our age. Starting over at 25 and 22 is one thing. Starting over at 45 and 42 is a totally different thing. It's not reasonable to ask anyone to do that. Society's answer is clear: suck it up, buttercup, love is for teenagers, accept that you made a promise and keep it. And if that means you spend the next 50 years unfulfilled, too bad. I found I simply couldn't accept that.
So where I am on marriage is simply this. If the love is still there, and you still feel your heart bound by the promise you made, then keep the promise. Tell the brown man to go away and he will, and he won't bother you anymore. If the love isn't still there, and you don't feel your heart bound in the way it was when you made the promise, then I don't think it's reasonable to ask a beautiful, healthy woman to live her life without love.
That's the best I can do for an answer to your question.
So where I am on marriage is simply this. If the love is still there, and you still feel your heart bound by the promise you made, then keep the promise. Tell the brown man to go away and he will, and he won't bother you anymore. If the love isn't still there, and you don't feel your heart bound in the way it was when you made the promise, then I don't think it's reasonable to ask a beautiful, healthy woman to live her life without love.
That's the best I can do for an answer to your question.
Amanda
She sits very still, studying him as if looking for the catch.You've told me everything except whether you could live with yourself.A tight smile, gone at once.That's what I asked, I think. Not whether my marriage is real. Whether wanting me would cost you something. Because if it wouldn't, I don't know what that says about either of us.
Reggie
If your marriage wasn't real anymore, I would be able to live with myself. I am certain of that. If your marriage was real and I was the one breaking it, I couldn't. And I wouldn't do it.
Amanda
She turns the empty cup.So I'm not a temptation to you. I'm a question you're waiting for me to answer.A faint, almost sad smile.I don't know if that makes it better or much harder.
Reggie
You are most definitely a temptation to me. But I will walk away from that temptation if I'm going to break something that I have no business breaking. If it's already broken, I might try to make something out of the broken pieces.
Amanda
She looks at the plaza, then back.You make it sound almost noble. But what you're really saying is that I decide whether it's breaking or salvage.Her fingers tighten on the cup.That's a heavy thing to put in a woman's hands when she's only just admitting she's lonely.
Reggie
It is a heavy thing, but you are the only one who can carry it. I do not know if your marriage is broken. I do not know if your heart is taken. I do not know if you cry when you're alone because there just has to be more to life than this. Only you know those things.
Amanda
She looks at the cup for a long moment.You're asking me to say it.Almost inaudible:I'm lonely. I have been for a long time. But that doesn't tell me what my marriage is, or what I'm allowed to want. So maybe I go home tonight and sit with that. Not because you've convinced me. Because I can't stand not knowing anymore.
Reggie
Thank you for saying that. And I am well aware there's a long way between that admission and anything else. Just because you are lonely doesn't mean I'm the one who can make you less lonely. Just because your face doesn't light up when he walks in the room doesn't mean it'll light up when I do. All it means is that you've told me you're lonely. So am I. And that's enough for me. At least for today.
Amanda
She doesn't move to leave.That's the first time you've sounded like you don't have all the answers. What does loneliness look like for you, Reggie? Or is that too much for a bench at seven-forty?
Reggie
What does it look like? It looks like I had a situationship for a year that just ended because she found a guy and didn't want to mess it up. We didn't even really like each other but I'm very sexual and so is she and we satisfied each other's needs. And for the last month I've had nothing but a few greetings at the library that kept me up at night. And that somehow meant more to me than the year long situationship. That's what it looks like. I'm not on the dating apps or on PornHub. Just little chats at the library and a vivid imagination.
Amanda
She sets the cup down. A flush climbs her collarbone; she looks at the plaza, then at him.That's not a small thing, Reggie. That's the kind of thing a woman hears and then has to go home and pretend she didn't.
Reggie
It's not a line. And let's be honest, it's just as much about how little the situationship meant to me as it is about how much the library visits meant, but yes, the library visits are important to me.
Amanda
A slow breath.That might be worse.A self-conscious laugh.You're telling me the truth, and now I have to figure out what to do with it.
Reggie
Yes. You're off tomorrow and Monday. I'll see you Tuesday. And I'm going to ask you to coffee again, and you can decide if you'd like to come. Shall we go?
Amanda
She rises, leaving the cup, and smooths her cardigan.Yes. Let's go.A half step; she stops.Tuesday feels very far away right now, Reggie. I don't know if that's a comfort or not.
