"Nothing, sorry," he says, instead of the God's sake, I don't want to fight again that almost comes out. It's too low a blow, too fresh after the last few minutes--and the irony of not wanting Alex left alone while he's happy to leave her behind for the sake of his own plans isn't lost on him--and in no way worth it. "I just wasn't trying to imply you should...impose, I guess, on him when I'd already offered to come along. All I was doing was asking."

He dips the roller again and moves closer to the window, rolling the paint on in wide, tall stripes and listening to her talk. "Here we are," he says. "I think it's...honestly, I'm happy you're giving it a shot. I think you'll be good at it, Stern."