something liminal

It’s been a busy day at work, but truthfully, Haley loves it. Diving right in, not having to think of anything else for at least eight hours. Not her father’s sallow face as he sits propped up in bed watching television, or her mother’s lips pursed in concern, as she watches him, allowing Haley to flitter about doing random household tasks before heading back to her own apartment. Not the numerous unread text messages from Hank informing her of his schedule, subtly angling that she takes notice of his rare, free weekend to come down to visit.

No, here at the museum, none of that exists. She can sort through her paperwork, catalogue pieces, make and receive phone calls that almost seem endless, and pretend she doesn’t have a whole lot of misery and confusion waiting for her once she leaves, always praying for an excuse to stay longer, today being no different. As if someone upstairs has been listening, an assistant comes just after the museum has closed to the public and informs her of some pieces for an exhibition expansion that have just arrived. They add that it may take a while to sort and she might not get home until late but Haley relishes at the thought, all but running down to the hall to oversee the delivery. 

However, en route, she notices a figure looming near one of the collections. Quickly checking her watch with a frown, she makes her way over to them, slowly, wasting all the time in the world if she can help it. “Hi, sorry, excuse me!” Haley tries not to be too loud — it’s not milling with people who’d be disrupted by the noise, the last of them probably filing out the doors, but she still has respect for the atmosphere, all the same — even waving her hand for them to notice her in their peripheral. “Just letting you know, the museum closed about three minutes ago, officially. You can’t stay.”

Sometimes Isaiah's head could become too clouded with all the information he poured into it on a daily basis. He wasn't just an information and knowledge seeker, the man was passionate about the work he was doing, and much of it was filed and sorted away in that brain of his. On days where it all became too much and his thoughts felt strained or jumbled he headed out of the house and his work space to ease the pressure of it all. One of the best things about this clearing was also how with shifting his focus often times the ideas he needed would break through.

Rather than head to the museum aimlessly, Isaiah had sent an email to an anthropologist he'd been needing to speak to and hoped that he'd catch the doctor there. He brought his iPad with him — in it he had his notes and files stored that he'd reference and bring to the attention of the doctor. When he'd gotten to the museum of history and science the place seemed to be emptying out, and there was no one there at the front desk. He wandered in hopes to encounter a staff member and ended up letting the exhibits steal his focus.

"Hello," he greeted and turned slightly to the voice only to recognize Haley Liu. They were neighbors now and growing up, if he remembered correctly, was one of his older sister's friends. The smile that had appeared faded some as she informed him he'd stayed past closing time and essentially said he shouldn't still be there. "Oh, sorry about that, uhh —" Zey glanced in the direction of the exit before meeting her gaze once more, "I was actually supposed to be meeting with Dr Segura. There wasn't anyone at the front desk when I came in. Do you know if Segura is still here?"

Her attention flickered back to the argument, eyes scanning the crowd. “Oh, someone’s recording, for sure. The internet loves public meltdowns.” She gestured toward the person holding up their phone. “Probably already on TikTok Live. Hashtag ‘drama.’” The corner of her mouth lifted. “But I think this one’s legit. Staged fights don’t have that real ‘I’m about to ruin my own life’ energy," she winced.

His joke about asking for the handle made her chuckle. “Oh, 100%. ‘Excuse me, we need closure—drop the link.’” She shook her head. “People are about to be in the comments like, ‘He’s guilty, I can tell by the stance.’”

His curiosity about her own public breakup made her exhale sharply. “Yeah, no, filming wasn’t part of the plan. I just thought doing it in public would keep things civil.” She snorted. “Wrong. Instead, I got a guy yelling at me outside a café, saying I ‘humiliated’ him. Private would’ve been ‘cold and heartless,’ though, so I guess I was screwed either way.”

"Hmm, you might be on to something..." She glanced back at the other. “Alright, since we’re theorizing—if this were you, what’s your move? Defend, deflect, or just take the L and leave with dignity?”

"That's a highly valuable skill and not one that's the most teachable. You either have it or you don't," Isaiah said of her bullshit detection. "What's your podcast called? I might need to have a listen. I appreciate your wit." The circle back was due to him continuing to consider her investigative journalism work. Mostly because it seemed as though they were in adjacent careers of sorts. "I'm actually a trained lawyer but never practiced," he chuckled briefly, "a criminal psychologist and lecturer is what I do. I grew up wanting to put the bad guys away and now I study what makes the bad guys do what they do. Not a sexy career of NDAs, loopholes, nor convincing people to buy shit they don't need — hopefully one that can make a difference, though."

At her direction Isaiah glanced in the direction of the person holding up their phone, no doubt filming the public dissolution of a relationship, and shook his head. "People love to film but hate to get involved and help a bad situation." Some situations were understandable, others were not and this maybe wasn't one that needed someone stepping in other than telling the arguing couple they should seek some privacy for their doom. "We love and thirst after other people's drama so much," Zey mused.

"I mean," his shoulders lifted as did the corners of his mouth in amusement, "we're kind of involved now and should know how this ends." As much as he had a love hate with this sort of public display, he was curious in spite of himself. "Okay but the comment sections are usually better than a lot of the videos," he laughed lightly, his attention shifting between her and the scene.

As he listened, Zey nodded in agreement that it was likely smart of her to have filmed the breakup, beyond it taking place in public. "I'm ashamed on behalf of men that you had to do all that," Zey admitted, shaking his head. "With some people you can't win no matter what you do. Sounds like it was a real good thng you got as far away from him as you could."

Attention snapped to her a little surprised at first, then Zey found it easy to theorize and consider if this were his own situation. "I'm too honest and too old for the games. I've been through it, you know — I'd apologize for the mix up and explain my side. She can believe or not. If she wants further drama beyond that then I'd be considering the partner I was involved with." It was easy to say all that, he was aware. Ideally that was how he'd want it to be. Emotions confused everything and made everything incredibly complicated. "What about you?"

"I'm beginning to see that," Elijah smirked, top already pulled aside as he viewed the chocolate chip muffins. Maybe in the life he'd had before this one someone had baked for him, in this life however this was a first. The gesture warmed him and told him quite a lot about Maeve's character. "Not that I mind you keeping me on my toes," he added, still amused as she teased, "at least I know I'm in for something when I see your blonde head enter through the doors." Most of the time he had a spot at the bar, other times he stayed in the security office and watched the monitors. Whenever he got restless or needed to keep a close eye on certain patrons he moved through the crowds. Elijah pulled a muffin from the container and set the rest aside while he took a bite. "Mmm — if you're not a baker then you might be missing your calling," he'd complimented around chewing and taking a second bite. "Thank you," Elijah showed gratitude and offered her one. "Have one with me," he suggested and then directed them to the bar where he leaned up against it. "Nah I'm just doing some prep work for the night. How about you? Got anything going on today, or will I see you back tonight?"

location: novelty

"Tails," she blurted out, eyes glanced up at him and tearing away from the selection of books River had been standing in front of. No reason other than the fact she was sure most people chose heads. As someone who was pretty much always reading something, or a few somethings, she knew the difficulty in picking up a new title. It was always a risk on wasting your money on something new and not ending up liking it versus and author or book series you knew you could trust. One of the more important things, especially around this stupid holiday, was finding something distracting. Tomiko currently had four books going, so if her interest waned or distraction pulled she could just jump to something different. "What're you deciding between?" Surprisingly her romance section had been pretty picked over. Usually, and funnily enough, the romance books didn't sell as well during Valentine's season. "Are we avoiding or diving right into our feelings? Personally, I'm going with avoidance."

the scent of dried herbs and incense clings to the air, curling around her like something tangible as she steps inside. wiccan ways is the kind of place that feels like it exists slightly out of time, untouched by the chaos of the world outside. tally isn’t sure what she’s looking for — maybe nothing at all — but she moves with familiarity, fingers trailing over the spines of books and delicate glass bottles filled with oils. it isn’t until she reaches the display of tarot decks that she notices the woman behind the counter watching her. tally meets her gaze, curiosity flickering through dark eyes before recognition sets in — not personal, but adjacent. "tomiko, right?" her voice is smooth, carrying the weight of someone who isn’t quite sure if she should be remembering this but does anyway. "we went to the same school, didn’t we? class of…" she pauses, tilting her head slightly. "a few years before me, i think?" it’s not an accusation, just an observation, one she lets hang between them as she idly picks up a deck, turning it over in her hands. "funny. don’t think we ever actually spoke." a beat, then a slow, easy smirk. "guess there’s a first time for everything."

What had caught Tomiko's eyes when the new potential customer entered into the witchy store hadn't been the familiarity. The young woman had an otherworldly beauty to her and for a brief moment it had captivated Tomiko's attention. She witnessed her browsing for a few seconds then snapped out of it and went back to her task of breaking down the small boxes that she'd just unloaded of a fresh delivery of incense. When she looked up again Tomiko was about to comment on the tarot decks that the brunette was letting her soulful gaze wander over, before the words could reach the surface their eyes had met again. "That's me," she smiled a little and had a fleeting moment of internal panic on if they'd met before and she'd somehow forgotten. "Ohhhh yeah, maybe —" There were a few high schools within the city limits. Tomiko hadn't thought she was all that memorable though. "Did you go to Oakview or one of the others? I feel like I should remember you but I was honestly over scheduled and overstressed in high school." It wasn't too different now with two very different business and all her bookish activities. She watched her hands and noted the deck she'd picked up, a habit from the bookstore and being too curious what others were interested in reading. "That's a shame. I was probably always the girl rushing past you. What's your name?" Maybe that would ring a bell. "Well, be prepared to have your ear talked off. You might end up thinking you had the right idea in high school," she teased with a soft laugh.

Mentioning that though and sitting across from her friend with all this food between them, Sunny shook it off. Not only were they not here for that, she really didn't want to chat about work. There was nothing exciting about being a hygienist. "I'd argue that it wasn't all that clear but I know that something big happened and you're freaking out about it." With her cup halfway on it's journey to her mouth the brunette's hand paused and Sunny blinked at Tomiko. It wasn't registering at first who she was. At least the she Tomiko was intending. "Wait..." A disbelieving laugh spilled between them and she quickly shook the preposterous idea away. "The she from nearly a decade ago?" Sunny set her coffee down. Could she really hold it against Tomiko for holding onto something for so long? Wasn't she doing something incredibly loosely similar? "The fuck does she want? Be careful... I don't trust a bitch that walks in like fucking nothing. Don't be a fool for this, Miko."

"Oh, shut up," Tomiko rolled her eyes at her friend's teasing. It seemed just about everyone was blessed with some leg but her. "You do know there is this thing called takeout boxes, right? Whatever we," she motioned back and forth to emphasize that she'd actually gotten this spread for the both of them, even if she was eating her feelings, "don't finish I can box up and take with me." As they munched and tried different things and sipped their coffees Tomiko thought over what it would be like to do the work that her friend does. Getting to know people's reading preferences and having discussions with their opinions on sometimes personal topics felt close and personal sometimes, just nothing like being in someone's mouth and being able to see into their throat. "How do you handle that? Just ignore it, huh?" That seemed the polite thing. "Is it awkward to see your clients out about town?"

The mention of her ex, the big one that she'd held onto for far too long, Tomiko should've known it wouldn't conjure up the most heartwarming reaction. She winced, "aren't we all fools for someone?" Then she shrugged it off as another small piece of baklava was shoved into her mouth. Once she swallowed it down and sipped her coffee she continued on. "It's not like we're getting back together. She doesn't want anything from me. It was just a courtesy visit or something like that. I guess she took a job in town." Was it silly of Tomiko to want to know what had been going on in Hazal's life in the past eight years? To want to catch up? It all may stir up a lot of old feelings, that didn't necessarily mean much. Did it?

──it was often she was craving sweets, but not really the likes of ice cream. however, she would never pass a chance to get something delicious from Rita’s —usually a milkshake or some frozen custard. today she was craving her favorite gelati, and having a long day ahead she could definitely use it, too.

she stood in line, responding to her emails; knowing what she wanted to order she didn’t need to look at the menu or the other flavors, not today. her warm brown gaze shifted to the man at the exclamation, a soft smile tugging on her lips when their gazes met. it only grew when he spoke to her, still gentle and kind, and she slipped her phone into her purse. “my favorite isn’t really everyone’s day favorite,” she gave a playful wink. “I am getting a custard base with bits of cookies, sponge cake, and sweet wine today,” she elaborated, “but I am also a milk chocolate and hazelnut fan, or the forest fruits!” the options are really endless, it seemed to her. “what are your favorite flavors? I can help with a suggestion!”

Knowing that she had been involved in something in her phone Isaiah felt a little guilty for interrupting. However, if she had been annoyed by it, she didn't let that show. Still, Isaiah offered a somewhat apologetic smile and let her kind eyes draw him in. "That's a good thing if you ask me." The popular choices obviously were a safe bet. It was usually the adventurous ones that brought up the most reward. "That sounds," his eyes shifted off, imagining each layer she listed, "intriguing. Any specific flavors, or —?" Maybe he was asking for a little too much hand holding along the way, it was just that he needed some guidance. Not only did he want to try one too many things on the menu, he also wanted to keep it simple so as to not overwhelm and end up disappointed in the end. "Ohh I'm big into the hazelnut. That's actually the creamer flavor I put in my coffee if I don't just get it black or flat." His hand over his stomach then, "maybe I'll try that." With how helpful she was being, already offering to give more assistant, Isaiah decided he'd be buying her treat along with his own as a thank you. To her question he shrugged a shoulder, "I kind of want to try something new, something I'd never have chosen for myself, and then I also just want to just take my first dip into this all with something I know can't disappoint. The ice cream sandwich or a milkshake. What would you do?"

He chuckled at her passionate rant about people who didn’t like to read. "Honestly, I’ve never understood that either. But hey, more books for the rest of us, right?" His eyes followed her gesture to the collection of books on display, appreciating the spot even more. The mention of Thriller Thursdays caught his attention, and his eyes lit up. "That sounds amazing. A thriller book club? I’d love to get info on that." Although it wasn't his go-to genre, he thought it'd be good to step out of his comfort zone. The club that Tomiko co-led truly grabbed his curiosity though. "That's genius. What books to movie adaptation have you guys discussed so far?"

With faux disappointment and feigned heartbreak, Tomiko's head hung in sadness as she shook it when he let her down easy. "Ahh," she sighed lowly, "the best ones are always already taken, huh?" It sounded like a dream, though. A fantasy. "Twenty-five years? Those still exist?" Already into her thirties something like that felt impossible. "Sounds fake but amazing," she joked, "I'm always down for good company so please let me meet the mom, ok?"

Another thing she could appreciate? The fact that he was likeminded when it came to some peoples weird aversion to reading. "Very true. You know, I often get sad over the fact that there's more books than I'll ever have time to read." Tomiko certainly sounded like someone made for a life in a bookstore. Seeing his excitement and the way he lit up about Thriller Thursday put a smile on her face and she quickly diverted her attention to under the desk as she searched for the postcard sized advertisement about the club. "Right?" She commented as she rummaged, "the genre is soooo stacked but also so diverse? Definitely has to have it's own special club." When she found it Tomiko offered it on the desk. "So, the website," Tomiko pointed to the card, "will list the books for each quarter. Right now we're on our second of the three for this quarter and we host the meetings here on the last Thursday of the month. But you can also join virtually if you can't make it in person. It's awesome because I often get lucky and get guests in here." Which meant getting to Q & A with a thriller writer, take a photo with them, and get a book signed. Not to mention the mingling.

At his question she blinked a few times. She just didn't know where to start. "I mean — we've done all of The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter books, classics like Of Mice and Men and To Kill A Mockingbird, and cult classics like American Psycho and A Clockwork Orange. Pretty good stuff. Are you interested in that too?"

As they walked further, Josie couldn't help but sigh at their question. "I don't know...the thought of giving my heart to someone again is utterly petrifying." The thought made her nauseous. She had truly never been in love twice in her life. The first go around, parental disapproval got in the way. The second time? That love was cut short although it would always remain. "Like how does one even date nowadays?" Josie had heard a handful of horror stories and did not feel inclined to have any shared experience herself. She tilted her head, raising an eyebrow as Nicola dismissed the idea of matchmaking. “Guess I’ll leave that to your sister, then. I’m more of a ‘let things happen naturally’ person anyway!"

"My only problem with karma is that it's not always instant, you know?" That sounded incredibly vengeful and Nicola knew it so she offered a sheepish smile of guilt as she glanced at Josie. "I wanna see it. I'm that kind of hater when I feel I've been wronged. Is that bad?" With a small laugh she shrugged a little. Nicola was fairly certain plenty of people felt the same way they just weren't so open in admitting it. "Except for when it's my turn and then I just feel like I've paid enough." At that she wasn't even sure she was joking.

What Josie had said resonated with her and Nicola nodded her head as a show of solidarity while they walked and her friend shared. "I feel like giving your heart to someone is a scam. People run from the slightest inconvenience these days rather than work on things together." Frankly she was tired. Of all of it. There'd only been one big love in her life and anything after had been failed attempts. Of which she would take her share of the weight of the doom. Even those with the best of intentions and sounding so promising seemed to end in disappointment, so Nicola kept one foot out. It was wrong but she was so burnt out on the up and down. The emotional rollercoaster just wasn't it for her. "Honestly, I really wouldn't know. I've pretty much given up and I don't think I ever fully tried. Maybe it just truly broke me." With a laugh she nodded her head again. "Me too and usually that means I just keep to myself."

She turned her face back to the argument, as unobtrusively as she could. "Someone is definitely recording this," I bet there is already a TikTok live stream underway," she joked. Her eyes wandered around the crowd, and found the familiar spark of a phone held against the light. "See? The internet is about to have a field day with this one."

And her voice lowered a bit into something more conspiratorial and just enough of a lean to be interesting.

"As for what started it? It could be anything...If I were to guess I'd say public breakup gone wrong. I can speak on this because I once broke up with a guy in public thinking he was more likely to walk away quietly than make a public spectacle. I was wrong," she said, sharing way too much. "So what's your guess?" She asked, looking back at the male as she raised an eyebrow.

So, she wasn't a lawyer yet had lots of experience with contracts. That only intrigued him further. Isaiah knew well enough that it wasn't likely he'd guess her profession so he didn't want to waste time attempts. "Fair enough," he smiled, eyes inquisitive, "what is it you do then? My brain is working on the not law yet seen plenty of contracts. You don't strike me as someone in sales —" And he couldn't even say why that was. Sales people just had a little something different about them.

While Zey wouldn't disagree that someone didn't already have their phone out to document the scene he didn't want to end up as background to someone's video. He too began to look around for a camera and his green eyes shot in the direction she pointed out and sure enough there they were. "Ah man, I'm actually a little disappointed if this was all just an act to get some views. You know?" It wasn't that he genuinely wanted people in strife, Zey was just tired of everything being for likes and followers. Still, he had humor of the situation and smirked at the woman he found himself in audience with. "Should we ask for their handle so we can check if it's posted? Maybe they can tag us." He didn't have TikTok. "I'm curious as to what everyone thinks happened," Isaiah mused.

Even if he felt a little too invested in what her answer might be Zey leaned in a little closer to gather her idea and nodded, he'd been thinking the same thing. The woman surprised him with her share, though. It was always a bit of a nice thing when you were on the receiving end of something personal from someone else. Everyone was looking for connection, right? "Damn, how'd he react then? What'd he do?" It was shameful that women had to go to such lengths for safety. That they worried too much about reaction to do such a thing privately. "And you filmed it on top of being in public? Sounds like you found out he was a narcissist or something to that effect." When she turned the question on him, Zey looked back to the arguing couple and then slight shrugged when his eyes met hers again. "I was thinking the same. Maybe it popped off because he got a text and she asked about it. You know?"

Maeve wasn’t great at saying thank you with words—not in the way that mattered, not when something actually meant something. So instead, she showed up at Elijah’s work with a Tupperware full of still-warm cookies, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot as she waited for him to come out of the back. When he finally emerged, she held the container out like a peace offering. “Before you say anything—yes, I know this is kind of corny,” she admitted, rolling her eyes at herself. “But considering you quite literally saved my ass the other night, I figured you deserved more than just a half-assed ‘thanks.’" She hesitated, then smirked. “Besides, I wasn’t sure if beer or whiskey was your thing, so… baked goods felt like a safe bet.”

After a morning run or workout Elijah usually found a spot in Woodside Heights for lunch then headed to Nirvana sometime after that to prep security for the night. Sometimes he was also able to be useful in other areas. Especially if they were moving stock inside from beverage delivery. In his office in the back going over VIPs and other details he was surprised to be told he had a visitor. That wasn't common. When he'd emerged from the back he offered a small but friendly smile to the blonde he'd recognized from the other night and looked down at the container offered to him and then back to her. "To be honest, baked goods is always the way to go," Elijah admitted, his hands reaching out for the container. "It's not corny," Elijah laughed quietly, "I'm just doing my job, though. You don't have to thank me. As long as you're safe, that's all that matters." Not meaning to downplay her actions, he was only implying that this wasn't necessary. "What's in it?" He asked as he pulled the container closer and his fingers went for the edge of the lid to pull it off. "Did you make these? Oh, wow, they're still a bit warm."

In all honesty Tomiko wasn't sure when things had become so awkward with Imani. Perhaps it was due to the reasons their continued try at a relationship had failed. That Tomiko had held onto the past for far too long and let the lack of closure from a previous relationship get in between them. She felt guilty. The feelings and wants and desires she'd had with and for Imani had been real. It'd just turned out that her fears were stronger than all of the above. Truly, Imani had deserved better than her. "Grocery shopping had always been an adventure, huh? We paid full price for everything," she attempted to joke. The smile on her face faded shortly after delivery, unsure if she should've touched on their history or just continue on like strangers now. "Sounds healthier than all the takeaway I always forced on you." The comment slipped out despite her thoughts. Though, she did remember that Imani loved her salads. "Yep. The craving hit hard and you know how that goes." Playfully, Tomiko had rolled her eyes at how easily she caved into temptations like that.

"What?" Incredulous, Nicola's head jerked back a little stunned, then soon laughed at the audacity. "Apparently he needs a throat punch. What an asshole." Blinking away her shock in people acting abhorrently, she shook her head in disagreement. "There's nothing wrong with your teeth. Not that you seemed to have taken it to heart, I just need to reassure you." At the comment of dating her, the bewilderment that had colored her features shifted to smirking amusement. When it came to the dating game Nicola's confidence was in the negative, she wasn't dead yet though. "That would be me pulling way out of my league but yes you should date me." A grin. "If you'd be open to a single mother and all. And please, dessert's on me today."

with elijah grayson @ somewhere they could have brunch ( @smthliminal )

             There was still so much she didn’t know about Elijah Grayson,   but a few months ago, when Callie had called her with an emergency switch, the auburn-haired woman hadn’t really expected to find comfort in someone who was meant to be work. No, not the type of comfort others usually sought out when they hired her services, but actual companionship. Long nights talking about anything and everything, and yet, it still wasn’t enough. Nari caught herself wanting to make him laugh and wanting to laugh in his presence, week after week, during their encounters. Elijah, she had discovered, was warm-hearted, despite the roughness he seemed to have gone through.

She shared her real name with him for the first time, on their last, so-called date. They had exchanged personal phones, personal information, and at least once a week, the younger woman would reach out to check in on him. It was nice. For the first time in a long time, it was nice.

That Saturday morning, she had cleared her lunch schedule to spend some time with a good friend, after all, everyone needed one of those. to catch up over brunch And when the small bells jingled, announding Elijah’s presence at the cafe, Nari waved at him from the table she’d picked out for them. “Lij!” Her slim arms wrapped around his bulky frame for a moment, before she pulled away. “How have you been? Let me look at you.” Her hands cupped his face, as if trying to catch glimpses of any fights he might have been at his job or something. "Why do you look so tired? I don't like that."

A man full of scars was reserved in baring himself to anybody. It was a strange contrast in that he wasn't shy of his body, exposing his flesh meant little to Elijah, the difference had to be the intimacy involved. When he'd gotten entangled with Callie it hadn't been for reasons anyone would assume, it wasn't for physical gratification. If he wanted sex, he could get it, plain and simple. To have the company and ear of someone that wouldn't run from all the complications he'd present? That was different. In the years since he'd awoken in that hospital room he'd been a blank slate and was discovering his likes and preferences and it wasn't that he hadn't been interested in the beautiful women that had given him attention, Elijah was just that complicated to connect with.

Most people weren't patient, or were put off by a man with amnesia, and it was difficult to blame them. Who knew what truly lied in his past. It could be bad, it could be drama that no one needed. So, seeking companionship came by other means, a recommendation by a friend had put him in touch with Callie. She then connected him with Lily when her schedule had blown up and he was having a particularly difficult time. Though, through their bonding, Elijah now knew the woman behind the façade, even just a little bit: Nari.

When he walked into the café his blue eyes searched for the one that always managed to beat the man who was always five minutes early to everything. Nari made it easy, giving him a wave that drew him to her table. A single arm wrapped around her small waist and he smiled over her shoulder. "You look good, Nar," he said as she was pulling back to have a look at him. It was something she did most times and while most might have found it annoying, Elijah was endeared by the fact someone cared. These days, his life was incredibly lonely. "It's hard to get decent sleep," he answered and gently pulled away so that he could occupy the seat across from the one she'd claimed. "Been tossing and turning with a lot on my mind." Not entirely ready to jump right into it, Elijah returned her interest. "How about you? You seem — bubbly, upbeat — something good happening in your life lately?"