And a phone call at 8:15 on a Saturday morning was a different kind of thing entirely. He answered. My father told me what you said to him, she said. No hello, no buildup. Straight to it.
Marcus put the spoon down. When last night he called me, which he never does. He always waits for me to call him. She paused. He said you came to his house and told him I wasn't a situation to you.
The oatmeal was starting to bubble. Marcus turned the burner down without looking at it. That's accurate, he said. Marcus Olivia. A silence, not uncomfortable.
The kind where two people are both deciding how honest to be. I'm not easy, she said. Finally. I noticed, he said. I'm not saying that like it's charming.
I mean it as a warning. I ask a lot of questions. I don't let things go when they bother me. I've been told I'm exhausting by the man who needed you smaller. Marcus said that doesn't count.
Another silence. Longer this time. You're not going to make this easy to refuse. Are you? She said, "Not a question.
I'm not asking you to decide anything right now. " Marcus said, "I'm just telling you I'm not pretending the thing between us doesn't exist. That's it. You can do whatever you want with that. " He heard her breathe. He heard her think. Which sounds like nothing but feels like everything when you're waiting on it.
I have a hair appointment at 10:00. She said, "Okay, but I could come by after around noon. " A pause. "If you haven't eaten lunch, "I haven't eaten lunch at noon yet," Marcus said. "It's 8:00 in the morning," Marcus. "Yes," he said.
"Come by at noon," she hung up. He stood in his kitchen with the phone in his hand and the oatmeal bubbling gently, and a feeling in his chest like something that had been held underwater had finally broken the surface. Nadia came. 20 minutes later looked at his face and said, "What happened? " "Nothing," Marcus said. She sat down and accepted her oatmeal and looked at him with a particular patience of a 9-year-old who has decided to let an adult arrive at the truth on their own schedule.
"Olivia's coming for lunch," Marcus said. Nadia nodded like she'd known that was coming, like it was entirely reasonable, and she had no questions about it. "Can we have sandwiches? " She said, "Sure," Marcus said. "The good bread? " "Yes, Nadia. The good bread. " She picked up her spoon, satisfied.