"I can't tell if she is actually responding to me. I am occasionally saying something and will even move my upper body close into her face which, because she is shorter than me, I must bend into so as to create an autonomous, acoustical space for us to reverberate in. Sometimes I'll wave the beer mug in a way that suggests I want to swish the beer around until a little bit flies out of the glass and onto the sawdust-strewn floor. But these are just details that want to distract me from getting to my final destination. I am still not certain if she is responding to me."