Read at 9:14. Answered at 9:37.

Twenty-three minutes is a useful amount of time. Not rude enough to start a fight, not fast enough to look hungry. She sends three plain words, maybe even a boring little “haha okay,” and the delay does the rest.

He starts doing the unpaid labor himself. Was she out? Was someone beside her? Did she type and delete something better? Maybe she was folding laundry. Maybe her battery was low. Maybe her thumb was resting on the screen while she decided how much rope to hand back.