The Weight of Understanding

"How did you know when I was ready?"

"You called me," she said simply. "That was the signal."

I held the phone. The desk. The January city outside.

"Thank you," I said. "For waiting."

"That's what I've been doing for twenty-two years," she said. "I'm practiced at it." A pause, and then the warmth returning, the specific warmth that was Camila's particular quality in difficult moments — not softeni