"First mistake is assuming I'm telling the Layabouts they've become grandparents," he says, and it's flat and dry, delivered as he looks towards the window and not down at the girl in his arms or the one curled up in the chair in the corner. Darlington lets out a breath, lets it pass, and shakes his head. "Sorry."

He does think about the question more genuinely this time, his already-slow steps slowing further as he resumes his lazy path around the sunroom. "Trying to picture my mother's reaction is easier," he admits. "She'd be overjoyed, but only as cachet. Only because it gives her a chance to...god, buy out half of FAO Schwarz every birthday and send gloating Christmas letters to her friends. She'd love the idea, the same as they both loved the idea of being parents and not the reality."