I Told Her About It

September fourth.

It came up sideways, the way most things do with Simone. We had thirty minutes after a shift, and the coffee shop near the corner was right there, and neither of us had anywhere pressing to be. She'd mentioned the community center once before, not seriously, just the way you mention things when you're trying to figure out if another person knows anything about them. I hadn't said much then. I don't know why.

Today she brought it up again, and this time I told her. About the class, the specific one I'd just finished. What it actually turned out to be versus what I thought I was signing up for. The thing about sitting near the window and not knowing why until someone asked. She listened the way she does, very still, tracking, and then she picked up the folded brochure I still had in my bag from whenever, and she looked at it for longer than I expected.

The look she gives you right before she says 'okay but why.'

I didn't sell it. I want to be clear about that, mostly for my own peace of mind. I just answered honestly when she asked if it was worth the time. And then there was a pause that went on about four seconds too long, and she set the brochure down in that specific Simone way that means she's not done thinking but she's done talking about it for now.

She looked at the brochure for a long time without saying anything.

Carol's letter is still on my counter. That's a separate thing, but I keep thinking about it in the same hour as everything else, which probably means something. The afternoon light was very good today. That is genuinely all I have to say about that.