Big man 6'2 shoulders like a linebacker, a laugh that could fill a room, and he was already waving the waitress over, already certain that whatever this was would be fine because Daniel Coleman operated on a basic level of confidence in the world that Marcus had always quietly envied. "Okay," Daniel said before Marcus even sat down fully. "What happened?" Marcus sat. He picked up the menu he didn't need. "Put it back down.
It's about Olivia," he said. The change in Daniel's face was fast and specific. Not angry, not shocked. Something more measured like a man who had just heard a word he'd been waiting to hear and was now deciding how to respond to it. His chin came up slightly.
His eyes went careful. What about Olivia? He said, "I like her," Marcus said. "No buildup, no careful architecture, just the clean, direct thing. I'm not acting on it.
I haven't done anything, but I wanted you to hear it from me before it became something I hadn't told you. Silence. Daniel looked at the table. He picked up his coffee cup, held it, didn't drink, put it back down, Marcus let the silence be what it was. Since when?
Daniel said. Since I brought the folder. Daniel looked up at him sharply. Nothing happened. Marcus said immediately.
We talked. She gave me coffee. I left but stopped. Found the right words. I came back in my head for days.
And then she called about the washer. And she called you about the washer. Daniel repeated. Yeah. And you've been talking since then.
Yeah. Daniel looked at him for a long time. Marcus held that look. He didn't look away, didn't it, didn't try to manage Daniel's reaction before it happened. He just sat there and let Daniel work through whatever he was working through.
How does she feel? Daniel said finally. I haven't asked her. I'm asking you first. Something moved through Daniel's expression.
At that something that wasn't quite surprise, but was close to it. Like he'd been expecting defensiveness and gotten something else entirely. You're asking me, Daniel said slowly. You're my brother, Marcus said. Have been since we were 12 years old.
That doesn't change. Whatever you say to me right now, that doesn't change. Daniel set both hands flat on the table. He looked out the window. He looked at his hands.