The air had that early spring chill that made even the streetlights seem sharper. The café was quiet, almost closing time, and Hannah was wiping down the counters when the bell over the door rang.
Emma stepped inside, shoulders damp from the drizzle, holding two takeout cups from the diner down the street. "Trade you one of these for five minutes of your time," she said with a grin.
Hannah laughed softly, taking one. "You know you don't have to bribe me."
"I'm learning it helps," Emma said, leaning against the counter. Her smile was there, but her eyes looked tired in a way Hannah hadn't seen before.
"Long day?"
Emma exhaled, running a hand through her hair. "The mural committee wants last-minute changes. Color palette revisions, design tweaks. It's chaos. I tried to stay calm, but—" she shrugged "—apparently I care too much."
Hannah set the rag aside and came around the counter, touching her arm. "That's not a flaw."
"I know. It's just… exhausting, sometimes."
They stood there in the soft hum of the closing café — machines quiet, street sounds muffled by rain. Hannah didn't try to fix it or fill the space. She just stayed beside her, close enough that Emma could lean into the moment.
After a while, Emma smiled again, smaller this time, but real. "You have this way of making everything feel less impossible."
Hannah squeezed her hand lightly. "That's because it isn't impossible. It's just one day at a time."
Outside, the rain kept falling, steady and soft. The lights in the café glowed against the windows, turning the world beyond into something hazy and gentle.
For a moment, it felt like the only thing that mattered was this — two people finding quiet in the middle of a storm that neither had to face alone anymore.