This morning...

"I'm sorry about the confusion," I muttered. "Oh, no, it's okay. I just couldn't hear you. You're quiet." I didn't know how to respond to that. I thought for a bit, searching for my voice, but nothing came to my lips and I withdrew without a word - only a nervous nod. Later, our eyes met, despite our attempts to avoid that contact, and she cast an uneasy smile at me. For a moment I wondered if I intimidated her as much as she intimidated me. If I thought that were the case, I'd take some small comfort in knowing we shared the same ground, but I concluded that wasn't it. I knew it would be hard to look at her after that.