he doesn't say anything, just looks at her. & she thinks that a man never really looks at you like he's just seen a ghost, he looks at you like he's just seen someone he used to sleep with, & that's a whole other kind of fear.

the blonde is looking from him to her, waiting for some sort of explanation. but he just keeps staring. so much time goes by that both women seem to be teetering on the edge of boredom.

she wants another cigarette, at least then she'd have something to do with her hands. "..so." she says.

he says, "so." the blonde smiles fakely but politely, "so indeed." he turns around, as if he's surprised to see her standing behind him.

he turns back to the front & nothing more is said.

she sees two options before her. she can either play into the silence & continue to feel awkward & uncomfortable, or she can act like this is all perfectly normal, & make them feel awkward & uncomfortable. she opts for the latter.

"so!" she says, "who's your friend?" & gives one of her better smiles.

he clears his throat, "well. uh. this..."

the blonde looks up from her drink & smiles, the epiphanic moment where she decides she honestly could not care less about this man's life or who the woman at the door is. she says, "i'm a colleague & i was just leaving."

she hands her drink to him, & takes her coat from the rack near the door. he says nothing as she walks out & down the steps to her car.

neither she nor he watch the car drive away. they're too busy looking at the ground. it's worse now that they're alone, because it means that something must be done.

she looks up at him & he's still looking down & somewhere to her left. she asks, "can i come in?"

he looks up quickly. he waits, thinking not for the first time in his life that the answer he's looking for might be written somewhere on her face. it's hard to say if he saw it, but he says, "of course." & gestures for her to walk in.

she smiles.