He exhales slowly. “Didn’t think you were the type.”
“I’m not,” I say. “That’s the point.”
“You think she’s the right fit?” he asks.
“I think she’s rational,” I reply. “Discreet. Capable. Unattached.”
“And human,” Elliot adds.
I don’t bite.
“What if she’s a romantic?” he asks.
I meet his gaze. “In her position, she doesn’t have the luxury of romance.”
Elliot doesn’t smile. “That’s a hell of a thing to say.”
“It’s accurate.”
“Or cold,” he counters.
I look away.
“She needs stability and support,” I say instead. “I need alignment and a wife. This resolves what we both need.”
“And feelings?” he presses.
I exhale through my nose. “This eliminates them.”
Elliot is quiet for a moment. Thoughtful.
“Huh,” he says. “Interesting.”
“What is?” I ask.
He stands. “Nothing. Just...” He sighs and stares out the window before continuing, “She would make a good Mother.”
I don’t like how easily he says it.
For a moment, Elliot looks like the lost twelve-year-old boy I met so long ago.
"Why do you say that?" I ask. I am not sure why.
He looks to me and replies, "She seemed warm and the opposite of my mother... of our mothers."
The silence is thick after that. Elliot seems to feel it too; he straightens and asks, "Send me a copy when you are done?"
I give him a look.
He grins. “Relax. I won’t beat you to the altar.”
The door closes behind him.
I turn back to the legal pad.
Lucy Bennett doesn’t know it yet.
But her life has intersected with mine and that doesn’t allow retreat.
