Once she caught sight of Spencer approaching, Hild had put away her cell phone. It was an extremely useful creation, but she had noticed how the people around her often used the device to tune out the rest of the world, or attempted to divide their attention between the phone and their company. If anyone else texted her in response, it would wait. She was with Spencer now.

"I would not be opposed to a hug," she said, rising to greet him with a broad smile. "But it is a gift. I accept no hugs as payment." Working at Graymark Books, at the very least, was teaching her the language of business, or retail, which was its very own language almost separate from English.

"I hope you like the coffee. The barista says many times that pumpkin spice is the best."