The presentation went fine, in the sense that nothing caught fire. But I spent the walk home replaying the one moment I stumbled — the question from the person in the grey sweater — as if I hadn't answered it at all.
I don't think I'm upset about the question. I think I'm upset that I still, after all these years, measure a whole afternoon by the thirty seconds I wish I could rewind.
Tonight there's pasta and the cat is being obnoxious about it. Small kindness. I'll try to let the afternoon be what it already was, which is: over, and mostly good.