Orchid in Repose

First paragraph, last chapter of What They did Instead (AKA, working title The deeds of Desperate Women)

          Shortly before the pandemic cleaved this world of ours, Hedy invited Gabe, a twenty-three year-old professional dancer, to dinner in her West Village apartment. While she cleared the dishes, he watched her, every move she made, as she navigated the tight space between a long line of cabinets that held everything she didn’t need out, and her dining table. In an exaggerated attempt to make herself fit in the small space, she stretched her arms to the front and back and fluttered her hands like fins, as if she were treading water through a narrow channel. Gabe did not say much during their meal, in fact he appeared to be shy and nervous, much more so than when they met over a mutually read book on the Long Island Railroad. But at her physical playfulness, he let out a melodic giggle, a thrill to Hedy and the evening before them.