Mozzarella

"I was up all night," he said. "I started overthinking ending up in the paper for something humiliating or dying in an extra dumb way. GAWD, I was just ... freaking out!" "Yeah, you were," she replied (not laughing and not adding more). His smile faded as he stared at her, wondering if she was giving a nod to the struggle or the necessity of the struggle; before he could ask, their fried cheese sticks arrived, and the whole evening took on a surreal flavor of mozzarella and doom.