[She is no longer hurt by the long stretches of silence between them, she knows him and she knows that this way of being curt and short with her are a defense. He's probably a mess of confused questions so she just waits until he finally asks a real question.]

I'm here because we need to talk.

[She looks at him over the rim of her coffee cup. Knowing how much dread those four little words can have on a person.]

Do you want to finish breakfast before we do this or....?