She was asked whether she was willing to
fly on a plane and then if she was capable of
living in a city characterized by severe snowy
winters, alone.
"Won't he be there?" she'd asked, pointing to
the man whose shoes she'd briefly occupied,
but who had yet to say a word to her.
"I'll be there—if you want me to be."
His voice was quiet, steady, and full of the kind of promise that doesn't need to be loud to be real.