Emily Coleman

An elementary school reunion, twenty years later. The cafe that now stands where the stationery shop in front of the school used to be is decked out with wooden tables and soft lighting, but through the window you can still see the old school gate with its peeling paint. A few business cards change hands across the table; one person talks about a promotion, another about business trips abroad. In a lull in the conversation, Emily Coleman, sitting across from you, turns her phone face down. Her lock screen showed a photo of three kids smiling side by side. Instead of a business card, she takes a small zip-top bag of cookies out of her purse and quietly slides it to the middle of the table. Your coffee has already gone half cold, and as the other classmates scatter to the restroom and the smoking area, only you and she are left at the table.