Éclair

No.

Mom's name is Eclair.

Yeah.

You had Cupcake, Cookie, I think Muffin.

Of course they're gonna have someone named after a Japanese delicacy.

Mm-hmm.

'Cause at first when I heard Mousse and Eclair, I was like, "Is this gonna be, like, a French dessert family?"

Yeah.

I tried to steer us toward light, silly conversation, but he kept responding, aha, or let me check something, glancing at his phone propped just out of reach.

After dessert, pastries I picked up from Eclair, he slipped away with his phone, thumbing through emails and muttering about late orders.

The chasm between us seemed to widen.

Every few minutes, his thumb glided across the screen, face lit blue, gaze fixed anywhere but at me.