Foreman lifted his eyebrows. It didn't exactly sound like Amber meant it when she said things were going well. But then, maybe she was distracted, tense. Foreman hadn't seen any reason for that, but he was hardly attuned to whatever nuances might be going on under the surface. Other than Leila's rather ham-handed portrait of him as a frightening figure hulking in the shadows of the parking lot, offering his umbrella to young, pure maidens, he hadn't felt anything to object to. "I was being polite," he said. And he'd been a bit overwhelmed at that particular moment; it hadn't seemed like the time to get into a discussion of what exactly the Volakises had on tap and start treating them like bar staff instead of hosts. With a twist of his mouth, regretting the waste even as he was glad enough to get rid of the rye, Foreman dumped his glass down the sink and ran the water hot for a second so that the ice cubes disappeared, too. "I'll have a glass of wine, if you're opening the bottle," he said, and held up his empty glass. "Should I wash this?"
He found a second wine glass, having seen where Amber had gotten hers from, and set it next to hers on the counter while she got out a corkscrew. With a sigh, he looked around the kitchen. The meal smelled delicious, and he wondered when they'd be sitting down to eat, and whether the Volakises had held the meal for their sake, or if they were still waiting on Amber's younger brother. Brian. The one she liked, if the way she talked about him was any indication. Foreman hadn't had much of a chance to eat today, and his stomach rumbled.
Leaning against the counter, he crossed his arms. "This isn't an adult space," he said. Kids could be annoying as hell in restaurants and movies, but Foreman had steeled himself for far more of a fuss when he'd found out that he'd be meeting Amber's niece. It was her parents' house, and Thanksgiving. How could she expect to ban a four-year-old from that? Foreman couldn't figure out where Amber's hostility was coming from. It probably wasn't Madeleine herself, who'd been perfectly well-behaved. "And Madeleine wasn't bothering anybody. She was colouring in the other room." In fact, considering how late it was, and the fact that it seemed no one had eaten yet, he was surprised that Madeleine hadn't collapsed into a temper tantrum by now. Amber didn't have a problem with children in the clinic, or as patients. She wasn't a natural with them, but she handled herself well around them, so it wasn't that. "You're upset your brother can use her to get attention," he said, the diagnosis slipping out as soon as it occurred to him, and before he could shut his big mouth.
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He found a second wine glass, having seen where Amber had gotten hers from, and set it next to hers on the counter while she got out a corkscrew. With a sigh, he looked around the kitchen. The meal smelled delicious, and he wondered when they'd be sitting down to eat, and whether the Volakises had held the meal for their sake, or if they were still waiting on Amber's younger brother. Brian. The one she liked, if the way she talked about him was any indication. Foreman hadn't had much of a chance to eat today, and his stomach rumbled.
Leaning against the counter, he crossed his arms. "This isn't an adult space," he said. Kids could be annoying as hell in restaurants and movies, but Foreman had steeled himself for far more of a fuss when he'd found out that he'd be meeting Amber's niece. It was her parents' house, and Thanksgiving. How could she expect to ban a four-year-old from that? Foreman couldn't figure out where Amber's hostility was coming from. It probably wasn't Madeleine herself, who'd been perfectly well-behaved. "And Madeleine wasn't bothering anybody. She was colouring in the other room." In fact, considering how late it was, and the fact that it seemed no one had eaten yet, he was surprised that Madeleine hadn't collapsed into a temper tantrum by now. Amber didn't have a problem with children in the clinic, or as patients. She wasn't a natural with them, but she handled herself well around them, so it wasn't that. "You're upset your brother can use her to get attention," he said, the diagnosis slipping out as soon as it occurred to him, and before he could shut his big mouth.