Her patience arrives as patterned fabric: stitched, strong, and a little showy. She tolerates long silences like a seasoned gardener tolerates winter—knowing that when the soil thaws something improbable will sprout. She mediates with an eyebrow that surrenders less than it yields, and when differences flare, she prefers small, theatrical peace offerings—freshly baked cookies, an apology written on paper with a crooked border, a cassette-recorded apology song.