ANAROSA WAS STARTLED. She’d grown used to being invisible. For years it was always the same. She approached diners and cheerfully asked: “Are you finished? May I clear your plates?” They grunted or answered “thanks” without looking up. Some smirked in her general direction, as if her whereabouts were indiscernible. But tonight, the young man looked her directly in the face and smiled. For a moment she was in the room.

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