There is a moment I keep returning to.

I won't tell you where it happened or who it involved. That's the point, actually - the specifics aren't mine to share, and sharing them would undermine the very thing I'm trying to say. What I will tell you is that I watched someone navigate a public moment with extraordinary grace, and I watched other people treat that grace as an invitation to take more. As though the willingness to be present was the same as consent to be consumed.

There’s a corner in East Nashville I can return to without leaving the room. All it takes is Egyptian Musk — one breath and I’m back on Fatherland Street, monkey mocha going warm in my hands, birds, the occasional car passing like it’s apologizing for the interruption.