10
You feel heat flooding your face again. “I’m not sure yet. What are you thinking?”
She flips around, lists three dishes.
You grab onto this, access to the secrets of the menu. You repeat the dishes back to her, say “Yeah! I was thinking the exact same thing!” You try to sound natural, pleasantly surprised that your mind would be so in accord with hers. What a fun coincidence to prove how alike you are.
She looks up, frowning slightly, and you remember you had just told her you hadn’t decided. She’s properly suspicious of you now, you realize, and she has every right to be. Click, click, goes your counter of untruths.
You remember what your mother used to say about lies, how each one was like a lead weight around your ankle. Too many, and you wouldn’t be able to swim. You’re feeling very heavy, the water rising past your chin, creeping towards your mouth.
