Julieta wrapped up her work, sent her final email of the morning, and gathered her belongings before heading to meet her supervisor for lunch.

She had met Deborah Swanson years ago, during her freshman year, while they were both waiting in line at the university bookstore. The university was hosting several events that day, including alumni panels, and Deborah had been invited as a guest speaker. Her face appeared on several flyers around campus, announcing her talk later that afternoon.

Deborah was clearly in a hurry, shifting her weight and checking her phone as she waited to purchase a hoodie and a few snacks before the event. Julieta, on the other hand, was in no rush. She remembered being on cloud nine that day, standing in line to buy a blue book—not because of the upcoming exam, but because Adrian had just texted her asking her to be his girlfriend.

Of course, she had said yes.

Standing behind her, Deborah continued glancing at the clock on her phone, and after a moment, Julieta turned and offered to let her go ahead. Deborah thanked her profusely before disappearing toward the registers, and Julieta had assumed that would be the last time she would ever see her.

By the end of that same semester, one of Julieta’s professors invited Deborah to speak to the class. When the lecture ended, Deborah approached her, thanked her again for the kindness at the bookstore, and suggested she apply for an internship at her firm.

The following spring, Julieta interned there. She enjoyed the work, but when summer approached, she chose not to continue. She had planned to help Benito at the store instead, but Adrian encouraged her to keep building her resume and apply for another internship at a different architecture firm.

That decision turned out to be a complete disaster.

Still, Julieta kept in touch with Deborah. After graduating, she reached out again and soon joined the firm full-time. In the years that followed, Deborah was promoted to Principal Architect. She proved to be a generous and steady leader. Everyone, not only Julieta, respected her.

Now, standing outside her office, Julieta knocked lightly on Deborah’s door.

“Good, you’re here,” Deborah said, already grabbing her coat. “Let’s go—you and I have an important meeting involving bowls of udon.”

They descended the stairs together, and the crisp, cold air outside reminded Julieta that it was December. She fixed her red scarf around her, as they walked quickly down the block, looking forward to a warm bowl of udon noodles.