The days had started to blur together inside the pack house. I had been given the long conference table near the windows as a temporary workspace while the motel situation stayed unresolved.
I was sorting through property records when Nadia appeared with a mug of tea she hadn't been asked to bring. She set it down beside my elbow and pulled out the chair across from me.
"I noticed….you've been staring at the same page for twenty minutes," she said. "Thought you might want something that isn't coffee for once."
I wrapped my hands around the mug. "Thanks. I didn't realize I looked that lost."
Nadia smiled a little. "You don't look lost. You look like someone trying to solve a puzzle with half the pieces missing. How's the work going?"
I took a sip and considered how honest to be. "It's going. Slowly…" I
"Oh, well, slowly but surely. Isn't that what they say?" she smiled.
