"Ren called earlier," she said, and not because it was relevant, but because she was the kind of person who said things when they occurred to her rather than managing the timing.
"How was he?" Mike said.
"Tired," she said. "It was late there... but still... he always picks up anyway."
"That's considerate of him."
"It is," she said.
She looked at the floor for a moment. "We talked about coming home for winter break."
"Whether I should go back or he should come here." A pause. "He said come back..."
"He also wanted to see the apartment."
"Not you," Mike said.
"He said me first," she said. "Then the apartment."
She almost smiled. "In that order."
"That's the right order," Mike said.
She looked up at him. "Do you think so?"
"The person and then the place," he said. "Yes... that's the right order."
She held his look for a moment. There was something in her expression that was not quite the look she wore when she was processing something analytically.
