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Chapter 1: The Misaligned Walk · The Search

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Chapter One.
• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: The Misaligned Walk.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: She pulled a cold fry from the paper basket,
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: dragged it through a smear of ketchup on the liner, and popped it in her mouth.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: Across the formica table, he was leaning on his forearms, watching her.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: And then he comes over to my desk, she said, dropping her voice into a thin, nasal squeak.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: We really need to optimise the quarterly deliverables before the deck goes to legal.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: He snorted into his coffee mug, catching a spill with a folded paper napkin.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: The waitress came by, tilting a glass pot with an orange plastic handle.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: He didn't say anything.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: He just nudged her mug forward an inch with the tip of his spoon.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: The waitress filled it to the brim with decaf and moved on to the counter.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: She reached for the sugar shaker,
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: poured a steady stream into the coffee and stirred it until the spoon clicked
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: against the ceramic bottom.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: You're going to be bouncing off the walls at midnight, he said, shaking his head with a grin.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: It's decaf, she said, looking up over the rim of the cup.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: It's warm and it tastes like sugar.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: Mind your business.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: He reached across the table, grabbed two fries from her basket and ate them both in one bite.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: She kicked his sneaker under the table.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: When the check landed face down between the salt and pepper shakers,
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: she reached into her bag and pulled out two crumpled bills.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: He slid them back toward her elbow,
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: laid a plastic card in the tray and signed the merchant receipt
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: while she pulled her coat off the vinyl seat.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: At the register,
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: his hand rested against the small of her back as she held the door open for
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: an older man with an umbrella.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: Outside, the rain smelled like wet dirt and pavement.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: Wet gravel crunched under their boots in the dark lot.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: Two fuds sealed the doors.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: The dashboard glowed faint blue.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: 10.14pm.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: The heater sputtered, blowing a draft of cold air across their hands before the vents warmed up.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: She flipped down the visor,
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: clicked on the vanity light and smoothed an eyebrow in the mirror with the pad
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: of her thumb.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: He shifted into reverse, checked his side mirror, and turned to look over his right shoulder.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: My sister texted earlier, he said, easing his foot off the brake.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: She asked if we're coming up for the whole weekend next month, or just Saturday night.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: Her hand stayed on the edge of the visor.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: The vanity light cast a sharp yellow square across her cheek.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: The car idled.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: Tyres stopped on the gravel.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know, she said, her voice dropping flat.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: Can we not figure that out right now?
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: His foot went back down on the brake.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: The reverse light shut off.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: He clicked the shifter back into park.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: He turned his torso toward the passenger seat,
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: his right forearm resting across the top of the centre console.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: We don't have to book anything tonight, he said.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: His voice was quiet, slow, deliberate.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: I just noticed you went quiet.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: Did I say something wrong?
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: She didn't turn around.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: She clicked the vanity light off,
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: pushed the visor up until it snapped against the roof
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: and locked her fingers together over her purse in her lap.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: Nothing's wrong,
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: she said,
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: looking straight out through the windshield at the rain pooling in the gravel.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just tired.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: I just want to go home.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: You were laughing three minutes ago.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: He leaned forward an inch, his brow furrowing.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: If you don't want to go up to her place, that's completely fine.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: Just tell me.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: Why keep it inside?
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: Her knuckles clenched tight against the strap of her bag.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: Her shoulders stayed drawn up toward her ears.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: Why does every single thing have to become a project?
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: She whispered.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: Her voice had a slight tremor in it.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: Can we just drive home?
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: Please.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not making it a project, he said, holding his palms up from the console.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: I asked one question.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: You pulled back like I hit you.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: How am I supposed to know what's going on if you shut down every time I ask?
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: She turned her head toward the passenger window, pressing her forehead against the cool glass.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: The condensation fogged up where her breath hit the pane.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not shutting down, she said into the glass.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: I'm asking for ten minutes of quiet.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, he said.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: He nodded twice, staring at the side of her face.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: He took his arm off the console,
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: placed both hands at the top of the steering wheel,
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: and pulled the shifter into drive.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: The gravel popped under the tyres as the car rolled out onto the empty two-lane road.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: The wipers swept back and forth across the glass.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: Thump drag, thump drag.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: The tyres hummed over the wet highway asphalt.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: Every four seconds,
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: a yellow streetlight passed overhead,
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: casting a quick glare across the dashboard before plunging the cabin back
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: into shadow.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: They sat twelve inches apart,
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: coats touching against the centre armrest, neither of them moving.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: The digital clock blinked.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: 10.22pm.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: At a red light, three miles from their exit, the car came to a smooth stop.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: He lifted his right hand from the wheel,
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: moved it across the gap, and laid his palm flat on her knee.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: Her leg remained completely rigid under the denim.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: She didn't pull away, But she didn't lean into it either.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: Her gaze stayed fixed on the red circle glowing against the black sky.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: The light turned green.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: He lifted his hand and placed it back on the wheel.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: The key turned in the brass deadbolt of 4B.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: She kicked her boots into the plastic tray by the door,
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: took her coat straight down the hallway into the bedroom and closed
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: the bathroom door behind her.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: A second later, the pipes in the wall groaned as the cold water ran.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: He emptied his pockets into the ceramic dish on the entryway table.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: Keys, wallet, a receipt from the diner, folded in half.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: He hung his jacket on the middle peg.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: In the kitchen, the refrigerator door opened with a soft suction sound.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: He took down two glasses from the cabinet,
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: poured water from the pitcher, and carried one into the bedroom.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: He set it on her side of the nightstand,
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: next to her phone charger, centering it on the cork coaster.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: When the bathroom door opened,
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: she came out in an oversized grey t-shirt,
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: barefoot, her face washed clean, the skin around her eyes slightly red.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: She walked past him without looking up.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: She didn't touch the glass of water.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: She pulled back the corner of the duvet,
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: climbed into bed, and rolled immediately onto her left shoulder, facing the wall.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: He walked around to his side of the bed.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: He unbuckled his belt,
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: hung his jeans over the back of the wooden chair in the corner,
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: and set his watch on his nightstand.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: He reached over and clicked off the bedside lamp.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: The room went black,
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: except for the blue digital clock on the cable box across from the foot of the bed.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: 10.48pm.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: Under the blanket, two feet of empty sheet separated them.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: Neither of them shifted.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: Outside,
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: the tires of a passing car hissed over wet asphalt,
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: the sound fading into the distance until the room was completely quiet again.