Ms. Harrington," Nathan said, because they were in her building and there were rules and he'd always followed them. "Don't," she smiled. "Don't you dare Ms. Harrington me, not you.
You've seen me eat save toast off a paper towel in Queens. We're well past Ms. Harrington. " "Victoria," he said, and the name still felt like a small dangerous thing in his mouth. "Hi, Nathan. " "Hi. " For a moment, neither of them said anything. Two and a half months of not calling stood between them, and neither one knew quite how to cross it.
"You didn't call," she said finally. "You told me you'd come find me when you were ready. I figured showing up on your phone in the middle of everything wasn't finding you. It was just," he shrugged. "It was just me being one more person wanting a piece of your day.
You had enough of those. I know why you didn't call," she said softly. That's not I'm not accusing you. I'm telling you I noticed that you did exactly what you said you'd do. You told me you'd be right here up a ladder and you'd wait and you did.
Do you have any idea how rare that is? A man who says a thing and then simply does the thing for 2 and 1/2 months asking for nothing, checking on nothing, just being where he said he'd be. Her voice caught just slightly. I've been testing it without meaning to. Part of me kept waiting for you to break, to call, to show up, to collect.
Everyone always collects, Nathan. And you never did. And every week you didn't. I trusted it a little more. I wasn't testing you back, Nathan said.
In case you're wondering, I wasn't sitting home keeping score. I just He rubbed the back of his neck. I was busy being proud of you from down here. Every time I heard something that you were walking the floor, that you knew people's names, that you sold the big apartment, I'd think, "There she goes. There she goes. " Victoria stared at him.
"You heard all that? People talk around me. They forget I'm there. Always have. " He almost smiled. It's the one good thing about being invisible.
You get to watch people become who they really are, and they never know you saw it. I'm not invisible to you, Victoria said. That's the thing. That's the whole thing, isn't it? To 400 people, I was a title.