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At that moment, Allyson snaps out of her wrist-related haze ( her wrist)

Willem has not had time to tell anyone about his apprenticeship with Ruckus, not his friends whom he will leave behind, and not Allyson, for whom the move has different implications Which is ht react He doesn’t want her to feel pressured, like the move means he has expectations (He has hopes, of course, especially now that he kno close she is to where he will be, but hopes are different from expectations)

Wille until Broodje says, "What’s going on, Willy?"

"Ahh, nothing No, not nothing So, actually" The faces are expectant, even those of Wren and Winston, people he did not know of until tonight "Kate and David run a theater co to be an apprentice there"

"What does that mean?" Henk asks

"I’ll train with them, build sets, do whatever is needed, and eventually, perhaps, perform It’s a Shakespearean theater coot to tell you that"

He forgot to tell her everything He was terrified to He is terrified now The o And Allyson having unraveled her feet fro

Maybe they aren’t so in sync Maybe what for hiood news, a reason to hope, is just too uely hears people around the table offering congratulations

But he can’t process it He is looking at Allyson

And Allyson is not congratulating hi

• • •

Allyson sees Wille her But she is helpless to explain right now Words have left her She is emotion only

And it is tooa bus ride away from her It’s that this happened at all How it happened

Allyson has to say so so upset The table is so quiet The restaurant is quiet It see its breath for the to New York?" she says She keeps it together for an entire sentence before her voice cracks and she dissolves into tears again

It’s Winston who gently touches Willeo now"

Willem and Allyson nod, dazed They offer halfhearted farewells (It doesn’t ood-byes with these two aren’t to be trusted anyhow) and leave a and Broodje to crash at W and Lien’s place tonight

• • •

Silently, they walk to the bike racks outside in the narrow alleyway Wille to say He could tell her he doesn’t have to go Except he does have to go