Davor cried over a cartoon rabbit. Nera had not expected that. She chose the film, convinced an animated adventure was a safe third-date option, without awkward romantic scenes or conversations about former partners. At the end, the rabbit found an empty house, and Davor took out a tissue. Nera looked toward the screen, searching for something she had obviously missed.
After they left, she asked whether the film reminded him of someone. He said no; he simply felt sorry for the rabbit. He did not look embarrassed. Nera felt more confused than she had while he was crying. In her family, tears meant something major had happened or someone was trying to win an argument. She did not know what to do with a man who simply wiped them away and asked whether she was hungry.
They ate sandwiches outside. Davor spoke about his warehouse job, his sister's new car, and his unsuccessful attempt to make pancakes. Nera waited for a serious story explaining the scene at the cinema. None arrived. Instead he asked what had last made her cry. She said she could not remember, a truth that suddenly made her uncomfortable.
They continued dating. Davor could laugh loudly, grow readily angry at unfairness in an ordinary queue, and quickly admit mistakes. Nera did not always understand him. Sometimes she considered his openness excessive, then wondered why she found people whose feelings she had to guess easier to be around. He never asked her to resemble him. That was perhaps the most confusing thing.
One Thursday her application for a job she had wanted for a long time was rejected. She came to his home intending to say she had never really cared. While he opened the door, the prepared sentence collapsed in her throat. She began crying, angry at crying over work and angrier still that he could see her. Davor brought water and sat beside her.
He did not list other companies or say there must be a reason. He waited. Only later did he ask whether she wanted dinner or some time alone. Nera said she wanted both, but not simultaneously. They laughed through the remainder of her anger. She stayed to eat, then went home to sleep in her own bed.
She brought tissues to the next film. Davor noticed the packet and smiled, certain they were for him. Nera left it between them on the armrest. This time they did not reach the end without a tear, but both left the cinema talking only about the film, free of the need to justify every emotion separately.