“Was his dad hot?” Alex’s voice tickled my ears through my AirPods.

“What? Alex!” I yelled, scolding her. “You’re disgusting.”

I decided to rearrange the shelves in the bookstore to make space for the new arrivals that morning. However, some light cleaning turned into a full-blown deep clean. I had already set up the new coffee machine and mopped the floors.

“It’s a valid question,” Alex responded, unfazed by my scolding. “Luke ...