Tandem

"Never learned to ride a bike without holding on," I mention casually over breakfast, one hand around the edge of the table, the other cupping my chin. "Vertigo: it affects lives." She's not looking at me, so I don't carry on about the infections I had in childhood that led to numerous surgeries on my right tympanic membrane.

She surprises me: "Have you been tested for Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo or Ménière's disease?" She has these quizzical hazel eyes. Now I recall saying something about ear infections before, when we compared histories of minor surgery. That was my last good excuse.