I realize belatedly I'm staring, again, but the differences- and the similarities- it's a lot to take in. I don't know her. I have to remind myself I don't, and with the accent and the hair it shouldn't be difficult, but there's something fundamentally familiar about her.

"Please," I say, stepping back a little, touching her elbow with one hand and gesturing with the other into the room with the stools and broad shared tables.