“You know what they say about Miles Davis?” I did not. “It’s the notes you don’t play. It’s the silences. That’s what made him so good. I need a speech with some pauses, and some quiet moments, because they say something too. You feel me?” By that point, I did. I knew exactly what he was talking about. What brief pride I’d felt in a speech that was in the best shape it had ever been a week ahead of time was quickly replaced by regret—regret that I’d been so consumed with making sure everything was in there that it made him complain that everything was in there. “Good,” he finished. “Like I
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