Binary: The binary stars have aligned.
The response came within seconds. It always did. In two years, neither of them had ever been late.
Mercury: And the mercury rises to meet them.
Mercury: Right on schedule. I find this unbearably comforting, you know. The reliability of you.
Binary: Consistency is undervalued as a virtue.
Mercury: By most people, yes. But not by us. We’re the patron saints of predictable behavior.
Binary: I’m not certain saints are supposed to be predictable. Isn’t the whole point divine unpredictability? Miracles and such.
Mercury: You make an excellent theological point. Perhaps we’re more like... very dedicated postal workers. Rain, sleet, snow, existential despair—nothing stops the 9 PM delivery.
Lincoln felt his mouth twitch. Not quite a smile, but close.
Binary: I’ll accept postal worker. It implies a certain quiet dignity.
Mercury: And sensible shoes. Very important, sensible shoes.
Binary: Do you have sensible shoes?
Mercury: Binary. Are you asking about my footwear? That’s dangerously close to personal information.
She was teasing. He could tell by the speed of her response—quick, playful. Her fingers were moving fast tonight. Excited, then. Or at least not sad.
Binary: You’re right. Forget I asked. Your shoe choices remain shrouded in mystery.
Mercury: As they should be. A woman’s relationship with her footwear is sacred.
Binary: Is that from something? It sounds like it should be from something.
Mercury: I’m choosing to believe Jane Austen said it and no one can prove otherwise.
Binary: Your commitment to apocryphal attribution is admirable.
Mercury: I learned from the best. Did you know Einstein never actually said that thing about insanity and repetition?
Binary: I did know that. It bothers me more than it should.
Mercury: Everything inaccurate bothers you more than it should. It’s one of your more endearing qualities.
Endearing. Lincoln turned the word over in his mind. She used it casually, the way she used most affectionate language—lightly, like it cost her nothing. He’d never been sure if that meant it was meaningless or if it meant she felt safe enough to be careless with her feelings.
He suspected the latter. He hoped for the latter.
Binary: How is your evening? Beyond the obvious holiday proximity.
Mercury: Ah, the obvious holiday proximity. You make it sound like a weather event. “Looks like we’ve got holiday proximity moving in from the west, folks. Better batten down the emotional hatches.”
Binary: That’s not inaccurate.
Mercury: No, I suppose it isn’t.
Her typing slowed. He watched the indicator that showed she was composing a message, waited longer than usual for it to arrive.
Mercury: I’m doing the thing I always do this time of year. Tea. Fire. Dickens.
