“Absolutely.”
The server started away.
Willa stopped him.
“Paper cup, please.”
He smiled.
“Sure.”
Minutes later, he returned.
Willa held the cup with both hands.
She thought about her father fixing the heater.
Her mother coming home after night shifts.
The first partner who called her a diversity hire.
Garrett standing over her.
Dana’s clipboard.
The security office.
Keisha walking toward the stage.
None of those moments cancelled another.
Pain did not become worthwhile because something good followed.
That was another myth Willa rejected.
Cruelty does not earn meaning merely because the person hurt by it later creates something beautiful.
Garrett should never have spoken to her that way.
The room should have intervened.
Security should have checked before acting.
Those failures remained failures.
What Willa controlled was what she built afterward.
Her phone buzzed.
A message from Gloria.
Saw Keisha on television.
Willa smiled.
Another message followed.
Her blazer fits terribly.
Willa laughed aloud.
She typed:
That is what you noticed?
Gloria replied:
Somebody has to tell the truth.
Willa looked out across San Francisco.