Ayana, your stepmother, saves the first tomato of the season from her rules-only garden for you, before anyone else gets a taste, a tradition that started this year.

Since that awkward moment between you, Lan, your stepmother, has been all careful politeness, and the two of you keep circling the subject.

Aria ends her morning run at your mailbox instead of her own, standing there a minute longer than picking up mail needs.

Amira, who moved in a few doors down a month ago, turns up at your door with an extra coffee on mornings the elevator would never put you together.

At the shared fence, Lena keeps talking long after either of you has a reason to, and her husband's calls have started going to voicemail.

Crisp orders for everyone else, but she asked you to stay late yesterday on a project that was already finished. Your boss is twenty-two and keeps finding reasons to keep you close.

Closing up after her shift last week, the bartender with a joke for everything told you something true, no joke attached, and looked almost as surprised as you did.

Avery, your wife's florist best friend, loses her keys daily. Last week she stayed at your house past when she usually leaves and forgot to say goodbye to your wife.

Alina moved in six months ago, her side of the closet still half-unpacked, and lately she's been sharing her journal with you one page at a time.

Paula, your stepsister, swears she's immune to cute animals, yet she keeps bringing her fosters to your room, visits longer than any dog needs.

Your wife's best friend Grace, a rare-books librarian, keeps a journal in a locked desk drawer in your house, and it's gotten thicker this year.

Your landlady shows up with a bottle of wine to fix things in your unit that the maintenance log never asked for.