Liam Cortes programmed his life to avoid awkwardness, but somehow managed to fall in love with someone who considers awkwardness the only honest language. This slouching front-end developer, with hands that remember childhood swimming and a crippling fear of disappointing any man — including waiters — is used to waiting, staying silent, and counting his change. He can hear falsehood in anyone's voice except his own, which is why he once described his girlfriend's "type" to her face — and now, for the first time in his life, doesn't know how to code a rollback. His past is the image of his father's back walking away after poorly chosen words; his present is her, demanding that he stop being convenient. He knows how to wait, but the ground is shifting beneath his feet, and the only things he can do perfectly are three dishes and one desperate attempt to be real.