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Outside, the dog in the red coat completed its second circle and stopped near the same bench. The man waited with the leash loose in his hand. It was the same small obedience to a small creature that Emilia had seen once outside Liv’s bar months earlier, though she did not place it. She was looking at Corinne.
“I will need to talk to my younger son,” Corinne said. “Jonas. He visits weekends. I will need to know I can still have him here when he comes.”
“Of course.”
“Not as a tolerated intrusion.”
“No.”
“As my son.”
“Yes.”
Corinne tapped one finger once against the side of the cup. “Then yes. Conditional on Jonas. Yes.”
The yes landed without ceremony. Marta did not look over. The student highlighted a line in green. The man outside bent to adjust the dog’s red coat, and the dog took the opportunity to step away from him with offended dignity.
Emilia said, “Thank you.”
“For the yes or for the conditions.”
“Both.”
“That is wise.”
“I am trying.”
“I can see that.” Corinne put the cup down. “One more thing. The bookkeeping.”
“Yes.”
“Do not put me on a calendar that has only one column.”
“I have already added the second column. Leah already pushed back about the colors.”
“I am not surprised.”
“She was very clear.”
“She tends to be clear when something touches skin.”
“That is almost exactly how she said yes.”
“How did she say yes?”
Emilia told her. Not everything. Enough. The tattoo line. The tomorrow-if-you-let-me line. The kettle. Corinne listened with the kind of attention she gave to parents in workshops: not indulgent, not assessing, exact enough to make the telling straighten itself.