A half-empty water bottle and a muffin sat in front of him. Regina pulled back one of the hard plastic chairs and sat down. He looked up at her absently, his gaze blank, but then he recognized her and smiled. Regina took a long sip of water from the bottle on the table in front of her. She was alone with Milton Shaw.“I think we worked out the details of the trick.” He waved to indicate the drawing in front of him.“Why do you like magic so much?” She’d seen him with the kids, helping them with the simple tricks they’d performed for her, coaching them on the placement of their fingers, their gestures. He became absorbed in what he was doing, like every surgeon or artist she’d ever met.He had begun to pull sheets of paper forward to show her, but now he hesitated. He flashed a glance at her, his blue eyes catching hers before he looked back down and finished the sketch.“Maybe because of all the girls it gets me,” he said, and smiled a little ironically, lifting up the paper and blowing off bits of eraser before handing the page to her.“I’ve heard that,”
