In contrast, it's funny how careful he's been with her; it throws into contrast how careful he isn't, at home. And though she's always faintly aware of the fact that they're a little more cozy than coworkers ought to be... Knowing where it's headed, and experiencing his company without that aspect, it makes everything feel so much more obvious. It's no wonder people talk.

"It still feels almost arbitrary," she says around a sigh. "Why it would happen now.... Either definition of now." She hesitates, considering.

"Maybe there's some reason she'd be more useful to someone in 1997? Or-- vice versa, but that feels less likely, somehow."