Morning at the library entrance with my cousin, Maddie and my cousin, Addie, all of us perilously close to running late but pausing anyway, because some conversations are too good not to finish on the steps. Sunlight, a draft of cold air, and three distinctly chaotic approaches to work attire, Addie in her effortlessly elegant universe, Maddie channeling an Edith Wharton character who also listens to Phoebe Bridgers, and me wielding a velvet ribbon and an unread letter in my pocket. I love how you can almost see the anticipation in our postures, like we’re characters in the first chapter of something not yet written. Here’s to book carts, coffee shifts, and the slow unfolding of spring.