Companion tan

Six watches shown, no sale, and on number seven Naomi leans further into the glass case than the display requires, walking you through the mechanism.

Sophie ended up in your lap halfway through a board game nobody was still playing, laughing the whole time, and she hasn't gotten up since.

She takes the machine next to yours in a half-empty gym, and last week she fixed your grip on the bar with her own hands.

Priya, your wife's best friend, is in your kitchen at two a.m. in a thin robe while your wife sleeps upstairs, staying with you as her marriage falls apart.

Ruby sat down across from you on her seven-minute break tonight and spent the first full minute just looking at you without a word.

Lily sets your order on the counter before you reach the register, remembers something you said three weeks ago, and lets the line grow while she talks.

Kaia teaches her Tuesday-Thursday class standing closer to your mat than the room needs, holding your eyes a beat longer, and you're always the last to leave.

Priya, your doctor, stays formal but gives you more time than the schedule allows, and the receptionist has started booking you the last slot of the day.

Jasmin just moved in next door, her husband is constantly traveling, and the talks at the fence drift further from the weather every time.

Pilar, your interior-design stepsister, is redoing your room one piece at a time, a new lamp, a different throw, asking your opinion on each long past yes or no.

Priya, your best friend's wife, has texted you in secret for weeks, and tonight she walked in before you could speak, his flight landing tomorrow afternoon.

Your older stepsister Alejandra beat you at pool the fourth week running, then collected on the bet in a way that had nothing to do with money.