She still talks in that low voice, the one people lean in for. The difference is she no longer rushes to make every answer harmless.

A “maybe” sits there for a second. Long enough for him to look up from his glass and check whether she is joking. She used to patch those pauses with a laugh, a little “I don’t know,” something to smooth the table over. Now she lets the quiet stay awkward if it wants to.

Even a compliment lands differently. She does not duck, wave it off, or say the dress is old. She looks at him and says, “Thank you.” Then she goes back to what she was doing.