Evelyn could make refusing expensive without ever technically breaking their agreement. Instead, she closed the communications folder. No school, no photographs of Nora without Malcolm's written approval. No location information, no attempts to create spontaneous encounters. Kelsey started to argue.
Evelyn's tone ended it. Find another strategy. On the drive to Alder Street, Malcolm stared out the window for several minutes before saying, "Thank you." Evelyn checked messages on her phone. It was part of the agreement.
The agreement gave me the right to refuse. You could still have made me pay for refusing in every other way. Evelyn lowered the phone. I said I would not use Nora as leverage. People say a lot in kitchens when they need something, then judge me by what I do outside the kitchen.
Malcolm had no answer. Kelsey's next idea was a dinner reservation at one of the city's most photographed restaurants. Malcolm rejected that, too. Nobody who knows me believes I eat somewhere that charges $30 for lettuce. Kelsey rubbed her forehead.
The point is visibility. Then use somewhere I would actually go. He suggested Miller's Corner Diner, two blocks from Alder Street, where the booths were cracked, the coffee was strong, and the owner still wrote specials on a whiteboard. Kelsey hated the lighting. Evelyn liked the logic.
The first dinner was awkward enough to be convincing. Malcolm knew exactly how to behave in the diner because he had eaten there for years. Evelyn seemed more comfortable facing hostile directors than choosing between meatloaf and chicken fried steak. Norah, unaware of the scale of the arrangement around her, asked Evelyn what cereal she liked. Evelyn had to think.
Norah asked whether she had ever owned a dog. No. Favorite cartoon as a child? Evelyn could not remember. Norah stared at her with open concern. Did you have a childhood?
Malcolm nearly choked on his coffee. Evelyn looked offended for half a second, then laughed. Photographers across the street captured that moment. The pictures spread widely the next morning, not because they looked romantic, but because Evelyn looked unguarded. Nexora's stalk stabilized over the following days.
The story of the sudden marriage remained strange, but Trevor's claimed that Evelyn was spiraling lost some force when she continued running the company effectively. The planned appearances continued. So did ordinary moments no one had planned. Evelyn began coming to Alder Street before certain events because Malcolm refused to move into her penthouse for the sake of appearances. She sat at his kitchen table answering emails while Norah did homework.
She learned that Norah hated sandwich crusts and liked strawberry yogurt only if there were no fruit pieces. Norah designated a blue mug as Eivelyn's mug and became irritated whenever Malcolm used it. Malcolm noticed Evelyn drank coffee only after it cooled nearly to room temperature. One evening, the clasp on her watch broke. She left it on the counter while taking a call and Malcolm repaired it with a tiny screwdriver from his toolbox.
He returned it without comment. 2 days later, she noticed he had done it. You could have told me it was broken. You fix everything without announcing it? Malcolm looked toward the ceiling where an old water stain remained.