"No," Elaine cuts in. Her voice is steady, but there's heat under it. "You don't get to 'dear' me five minutes after discussing my uterus like it's a business asset."
A few heads turn nearby. I feel her pulse hammering where my hand rests on her waist.
Interesting.
My mother blinks once, then smiles thinly. "You'll learn."
Elaine looks at me then. Searching my face for something. Support? Objection?. Anything.
I give her nothing.
The disappointment flashes across her expression before she masks it, quickly.
"We're not discussing this further," I say, disengaging my arm from her waist. The absence of her warmth is immediate. And I fin it Annoying. "We'll be leaving soon."
My mother studies me for a moment. "No honeymoon, then."
"No," I confirm. "We will return to the house."
Elaine's head snaps toward me again. "The house."
"Yes."
She exhales slowly through her nose, clearly counting to keep from saying something regrettable.
