"The birds did nothing more than peck me and scrape me up but I'm fine," Thomas said, smiling at Krem, at the touch, at the whole situation. It felt nice. Quiet and content but with a hum of anticipation that pushed away feelings of restlessness that usually licked at his heels.

"I've had some Chinese food but not a lot," he said, looking over at the box. He usually defaulted to pizza when he was ordering out because it was easy and he knew he liked it. Krem's spread was immense and it smelled spicy and savory and sweet. "What's wrong with cheese?"