Everything We Almost Said
drama◐ MatureMara speaks first. "Don't get on it," she says. The words just fall out. Theo freezes, toast in hand. Through the glass, the bus driver checks his mirror. "Stay. Just tonight. We always run out of time, and I'm so tired of running out." Theo sets the toast down slowly.
Theo doesn't sit. He stays standing, hand on the back of the chair. "And then what?" he asks. "We stay tonight, and tomorrow we go back to almost? I can't keep doing almost with you, Mara. It's killing me a little." His voice cracks on the last word.
What happens next?
3 ways forward"Then stop doing almost," Mara says. She stands, walks around the table, and kisses him before she can talk herself out of it. The whole diner seems to hold its breath. When they break apart, Theo laughs, stunned. "A year," he says. "We wasted a whole year."