Silas laughed.

“At least they didn’t send four SUVs to help clean it up.”

I nearly choked on my dessert.

He had finally learned to joke about the absurdity of his entrance without making my pain into the punchline.

Walking back to my apartment, we talked about whether we would ever want to live together.

I told him I was not ready to leave my job or the independence I had built.

He said he would never ask me to.