"I don't know. Wouldn't you develop somethin' of a complex if someone started dating you, then turned right around and pointed out that they're gonna put their all towards trying to make their way back to a place you probably can't get to?" Sookie says, wrinkling her nose. As much as she appreciates the principle, the idea of seizing the moment feels more or less like a platitude to her these days. Maybe she shouldn't view relationships as having an expiration date, but there are plenty of reasons to avoid dating at all in the first place, and it just feels like Sookie has one right in her hands.

A moment of doubt, however, has her staring down at the sheets, lips thinning. It's one thing to land on a sensible conclusion, and another to live by it.

"Oh," she adds, glancing up. "There's a guy here who shares Warlow's face and accent, by the way, but it's not him. His name is Chuck. Not the guy I had dinner with, mind, just thought you should know lest you scream in his face like I did when I met him."