The woman had been talking uninterrupted for quite long. The more she talked, the more she strayed from the topic of the meeting. The participants were familiar with her struggles to yield the conversation. Some wondered if there was enough time left in the meeting to address all points, while others began daydreaming.
The man sitting next to her would try to make eye contact, but because he was sitting on the corner just outside her sight, she never looked in his direction. He would try to interrupt her, opening his mouth, but the woman would always be faster. Each time this happened, his eyes widened and his expression tightened. One by one, the participants started to look at the man, then the woman, in increasingly rapid succession.
The woman suddenly realized that she had talked for too long, and apologized. She looked around awkwardly, and made eye contact with the man, who by then was staring at her with a frozen, unblinking face. One of the participants held their breath. After a pause, she stumbled over her words and conceded the floor to him.
The man nodded, addressed her point and continued the conversation right before she went off topic. His words were strained and precise. His face remained the same. His shoulders remained the same. Some participants fidgeted in their chairs, while others started mirroring his posture.
Somebody else picked up the thread, and the conversation continued. The man started blinking again. By the end of the meeting, the woman and the man were smiling at each other. People wished each other a good afternoon, but everyone went home feeling vaguely less safe.