[She doesn't notice him until he speaks. He is just another body passing under the stars. Sometimes bodies stop beside her. Some people have grudges they might hold against her. She can't remember, in the moment between his speech and her parsing of language, whether he has the right to a grudge; whether he's the type of man to hold one in principle.]
[And then.]
[Hello, he says. Sweetheart, he says. Just words. They are words that other people might have used once, but those people are gone now. She is all alone, and her heart is bitter as bile.]
[Tears tremble in the corners of her eyes. Where did those come from? She hasn't cried all this week. Not since she saw Nathan gone. And now some man speaks to her in gentle tones and she would weep.]
[Her tears don't fall, but they threaten. Her lips go tight, and she bows her head, as if in prayer. But Vin, who has no last name here, who has never had family, doesn't pray.]
[Spam : Day One]
[And then.]
[Hello, he says. Sweetheart, he says. Just words. They are words that other people might have used once, but those people are gone now. She is all alone, and her heart is bitter as bile.]
[Tears tremble in the corners of her eyes. Where did those come from? She hasn't cried all this week. Not since she saw Nathan gone. And now some man speaks to her in gentle tones and she would weep.]
[Her tears don't fall, but they threaten. Her lips go tight, and she bows her head, as if in prayer. But Vin, who has no last name here, who has never had family, doesn't pray.]