I Waited Too

[Intro — fingerpicked acoustic signature; restrained, fully sung] [Part 1 — male; recognition hits first] I stopped for coffee after midnight and froze when I saw you behind the counter. [Part 2 — female; startled, guarded] I looked up and knew that truck outside before I knew what I was supposed to say. [Part 3 — male; awkwardly practical] I asked if the coffee was fresh because anything else felt too hard to start with. [Part 4 — female; nervous hands] I told you it was fine while my fingers kept folding that receipt in half. [Part 5 — male; familiarity slipping through] I noticed you were fidgeting and almost smiled because you used to do that when you were nervous. [Part 6 — female; first warmth] You took it black and I remembered how many mornings you waited for my shift to end. [Instrumental Turn — acoustic signature answers softly, still unresolved] [Part 7 — male; memory opening] We used to count your tips after closing and talk about all the places we'd go. [Part 8 — female; affection underneath the distance] You stayed through every late shift and knew how to sneak past my dad. [Part 9 — male; stakes surface] We had my brother's suitcase packed and enough gas money to get us gone. [Part 10 — female; old wound] I waited by the church with my bag at my feet until the sky went pale. [Part 11 — male; hurt answering] I stood by the Texaco with that suitcase until they started shutting off the lights. [Part 12 — female; confusion] I walked home at five carrying everything I thought you didn't want. [Part 13 — male; certainty breaks] The Texaco was three miles south and I stayed there a little after five. [Part 14 — female; stunned realization] You were three miles away and both of us thought the other never came. [Part 15 — male; relief breaking through] You actually came and now I can't stop laughing at how wrong we were. [Part 16 — female; owning the mistake] I wrote meet me by the highway like there was only one place to mean. [Break — brief silence; pedal steel answers the signature] [Hook 1 — male; tired relief] I thought you changed your mind and I waited there for you. [Hook 2 — female; warmer] I thought you changed your mind and I waited there for you. [Shared Hook — both; first restrained overlap] I waited too. [Part 17 — male; teasing] You're fidgeting again and that receipt's about one fold from giving up. [Part 18 — female; easy answer] You're talking too much again and I already know where the story goes. [Part 19 — male; restrained excitement] I came in for coffee and now mine's been cold for half an hour. [Part 20 — female; playful warmth] I keep topping it off because neither one of us wants you to finish it. [Instrumental Turn — signature completes quietly; groove relaxes] [Part 21 — male; old rhythm returning] You still interrupt me and I still forget what I was trying to say. [Part 22 — female; open, amused] You still make me laugh and now the sun's coming through the windows. [Final Hook A — male; exposed] I spent ten years thinking you never came and now I don't want you to leave. [Final Hook B — female; hopeful] I spent ten years thinking you left and now I wonder what's still here. [Final Hook — both; warm, imperfect] I waited too. [Outro — female; playful invitation] I'll make one more pot if you tell me where you're actually going. [Outro Response — male; easy, relieved] I'll tell you anything if I get to stay long enough to finish the story. [Final Shared Line — both; soft harmony] Then stay awhile. [Outro — instrumental; acoustic signature resolves, soft pedal steel answer]