Being left alone at the shop while Leo traipsed off to Calcaria’s hotel meant anxiety, which meant pacing before the gateway door—back and forth and back and forth—listening to the quiet ticking of my internal clock and trying not to go crazy. It worked for a while. Pacing gave me something to do—steps to count and retrace, grain on the floor to follow and memorize as I twisted and turned. Unfortunately, Bela got annoyed after the first hour and refused to leave the floorboards even enough for me to walk across.
