“I just want to understand what the document is,” I said.

The waiter arrived right away and stacked our dinner plates.

He wiped the breadcrumbs from the table with a small metal scraper and a black cloth.

“Melissa asked me for some financial advice,” Daniel said.

He waited until the waiter had walked away toward the kitchen doors.

“She’s trying to figure out her budget for a new place closer to Ava’s high school,” he said.

He poured a single packet of sugar into his coffee cup and stirred it with a small silver spoon.