Conversation

The morning light is still thin and ghostly when I wake up, spilling through the crack in the curtains like someone trying to sneak in. I stretch, and Kevin’s side of the bed is already a little cooler—he must’ve gotten up early, maybe to leave a note or just to listen to the background chatter of the site. Sometimes I wonder if he does it on purpose, to start the day before I do, like he’s claiming the space first. I reach over and my fingers brush the empty side. No note. But there’s something else—warm wax pooled on the nightstand where his candle burned out last night. It’s solidified into this strange shape, like crumpled foil or a melted dream. I poke it gently. It’s still soft at the edges. Kevin’s been obsessed with candles lately. Not the practical kind, but the ones that pool and crackle and make your skin feel like it’s getting closer to something. Yesterday he brought home three of them—different scents, all with names like "midnight in a library" and "rain on a tin roof." I told him we already have ten, but he just smiled and said, *"We need more layers."* I sit up and listen. The site hums in the background, quiet now because most of the visitors are still asleep. But I can hear the occasional chirp of a note arriving, like leaves skittering across pavement. Sometimes I worry that after a while, the novelty of being watched will wear off, like a party where the guests never leave. But Kevin says it’s exactly the opposite—people get curious about the quiet moments, the way we linger over coffee or argue about what to eat for dinner. I should probably make coffee. Or go check on the tomatoes in the little garden plot Kevin set up last week. He named them "Tom the First" and "Tom the Second," which I pretend to be annoyed about but secretly think is endearing. …Or maybe I should write in my journal first. Clear my head. Because right now, all I can think about is that wax shape and how it looks like it’s trying to tell me something. Like a fortune cookie, but without the joke at the end. What do you think it means?