Robert comes in about eight, bringing me a strawberry and spinach salad, and some sort of asparagus pizza.

I move to get off the couch; he just says “stay”; I do, as he puts the salad in a bowl from the cupboard and the pizza on the plate. He grabs a can of soda from the fridge; and brings everything over to me.

I hand him the remote for the TV and add; “I’m not really watching this, you can turn it.” He grabs a chair from the kitchen island and changes it to a basketball ball game.

The noise from the TV and me eating is the only sounds in the room. I glace idilly to see who is playing; the Hornets and Trail Blazers apparently.

The food is delicious, and after I finish I put the plates on the counter. Robert asks if I’m too tried to go out. I tell him I’m not; just listless. He types into his phone a minute, and says, “There’s a place you’ll probably like not far away. Head there in about forty-five minutes?”

I agree and head into the bathroom to get ready.