On Nodding Terms — Low-Profile Cap

The nod begins cautiously. You have passed each other enough times that continuing to behave like strangers now seems more awkward than acknowledging the situation. A small lift of the chin should cover it. They return the gesture. Neither of you breaks stride, and an understanding has apparently been reached.

Over the next few weeks, the greeting becomes reliable. Rain earns a more expressive version. A difficult morning gets the smallest possible movement, which is accepted without further questions. Once, you are in a cheerful mood and nearly say something, but they have already nodded and gone past. It would feel excessive to turn around and explain that you were considering words.

Then one day they are walking with someone else. You wonder whether the arrangement still applies in company, and they nod exactly as usual. You are ridiculously pleased. It is a very small form of belonging, to be recognized without having to arrive as a complete introduction. You carry on with your errands, now officially known to a person about whom you can confidently say they also go this way.

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