note at the bottom of the page.

image by author.

It begins with a name, I suppose.

[beat]

“What’s your name?”

“Robert.”
“Nice to meet you, Robert.”
“I mean Zak. Short for Zachary.”
“So your name’s Zak, then?”
“I guess. Well — it is.”
“Nice to meet you, Zak.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“Frankly, I think you’re more of a Robert than a Zak.”
“Did I say Zak? I meant Robert.”
“Oh. I see. Nice to meet you, Rob.”
“Robert — please.”
“Nice to meet you, Robert.”
“Nice to meet you, too.”

[beat]

“So Robert, d’you want to know my name?”
“No, not really.”
“So we can get acquainted?”
“No, not really.”
“But, you see, normally people when they…”
“No. Really. No.”