​

Then, at the first cup, one was suitably stilled — eye at table height, staring through the tar-colored liquor like a lens pointed toward th

The threshold of experience may be pointed to, but cannot be crossed by proxy. In the end, the difference may appear to be “nothing much at all.” Exactly. That not very much at all makes all the difference.

My guest and I sat facing opposite directions. We interacted when appropriate, but more often sat quietly — eyes closed, or half-resting on