well, obviously

The waitress had no time to refill our coffee and the crowd as more loud than interesting. My girlfriend kept trying to tell me something, but over the music and everyone talking I couldn't hear her very often, and she'd usually give up on what she was saying after a few tries. She picked at her food, and scraped her spoon along the bottom of the mug. I could barely hear it but the sound started to grate. I just couldn't tell her to stop.

Eventually the crowd started to thin and she finished her food and stopped stirring, just staring at the empty plate. We sat there in silence for a lot longer than was comfortable. After paying the check, I tried, "You were trying to say something earlier?"

"Yes, I was."

"Do you want to try again?"

"Not especially."

The stirring started again and I tried not to wince. "Shall we, then?"

She stopped and shrugged. "I guess." She didn't follow when I left.