Paused

The thin man paused in the shade with his knees a little bent.

The speaker paused and then went on talking again.

He paused to have a cigarette.

He paused to look at the poster.

Then, this child of fourteen years learned, as in a homework, that which we hide to maidens until their wedding night. She flipped through the drawings of the anatomy book, those superb drawings of a bloody reality. She paused upon each organ, understanding the most secret of them, those upon which is built the shame of men and women.

Tom paused briefly.

Tom paused momentarily.

Tom paused uncomfortably.

Tom paused.

She paused in surprise.