The phone was on the desk. Not face-down.

Mindy comes back Thursday the way she left Sunday - without announcement. She's there and then she's there. Opens the laptop, picks up the selects, works from where she stopped. No transition.

The phone is on the desk. Face-up. Not a performance. Just not hidden.

Frida sees it. Jayme sees it. Neither says a word - saying a word would change what it is. Casandra files it. Chloe, low, to Casandra: "She's back." Casandra: "Yeah." Not about Thursday.

The afternoon: a client call, selects she moves through with a sharpness that's cleaner than usual, less qualified. Casandra gives the fractional nod she gives when someone is landing right.

Something that had been held at an angle is sitting flat. Nobody asked. The room reorganized around it already.

Featured: Mindy Carpenter, creative director. Frida Martinez, division lead. Jayme Nichols. Casandra Cass. Chloe Dawn.

The Marfa Munchies is a daily fiction podcast about a food, beverage, and lifestyle division of a creative agency between Marfa and Dallas. New episodes every morning.

Follow the world at @marfamunchies on Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky.

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| ai-assisted fiction