Jackie waited five years before she allowed herself to miss Levi. Maybe she really did need all of that time, but if this was a movie, the narrator would take this moment to point out how Jackie admitting she missed Levi was never the real issue. Missing someone who had been part of her life for years was to be expected, and as long as she missed him as a whole, as long as the lingering ache of loss had dulled to reasonable nostalgia, it wasn't the type of admission that could be destructive. It was missing all the pieces that made up the whole that would have complicated everything. Because missing his laugh was intimate. It led into specifics that could devastate so easily. She couldn't miss the pieces, but after five years, Jackie thought she was far enough removed to only miss the whole.
That probably wasn't true. The narrator would probably have something condescending and snarky to say about how far from true that assumption was. But this wasn't a movie. There was no narrator. Jackie had missed his smile, and that sparked a fireworks flash of images, a million different moments, but if she didn't acknowledge the spark, she wasn't lying, was she? As long as she stayed in the moment, ignored the images that led to memories that both tightened her up and threatened to tear her apart, everything was fine. It was fine to watch Levi smile, and watch that smile become a laugh.
Everything was fine.
When Jackie tracked down the coin, she never thought of what came next. She just wanted there to be a next. As it stood, they were living completely separate lives. With all that distance, there somehow wasn't even room for the occasional greeting card, or letter, or rogue text. But olive branches closed gaps, even olive branches that looked a lot like money. Jackie knew a lot would remain distant. Certain things had to remain roped off. But she wanted something. She wanted a friendship. She missed the whole, so friendship was possible.
"It's a very small coin," she replied, meeting that sidelong glance with a smile. She knew what he was saying, because she knew Levi very well once. But this couldn't be a big deal, probably for the same reason they couldn't miss the pieces, just the whole. There was room for banter, but no room whatsoever for subtext.
She paused to give Levi's comment proper consideration, but any assessment ended with an inevitable scrunch of her nose as her gaze returned to his. "I do really enjoy places that serve breakfast all day. But dinner before three? I just don't know..." Her voice trailed into a sigh, and that was when her lips twitched with the makings of another smile, barely kept at bay. "Maybe if we figure out a new theme. First order of business in this whole friendship thing." Off the top of her head, Jackie couldn't really think of any truly catchy songs about being a hag. She had to assume most hag ditties focused on spinster hags, and were also probably sea shanties, so that whole catalogue of music was out for one reason or another. "After you hear back from the realtors, of course. I mean, harassing the youth of today has to be a top priority."