He sees the glow on her face, and he smiles in return as he asks, "Should I be worried about how much you've ordered?" She bashfully responds, "Maybe." He laughs at her, knowing her excitement about decorating their home for their first Christmas as a family is everything to her. So he can't imagine the amount of items she's purchased.
They share a kiss as he says, "Well, while you meet with Judy. I will take care of getting the deliveries organized. Then when you're done we can start some light decorating, building up to the bigger decorations." She appreciates his helpfulness but says, "Babe, are you sure you don't want to be in the meeting with us?" He nods as he responds, "Yeah. You can handle it, right?" She agreeably says, "Yes of course. But, we normally do it together."
He understands her concern with his change in their routine. But he realizes he has to be honest with her. So he says, "I know Ker. But I just don't feel like talking about the public relations stuff today if I can help it." She feels confusion setting in; she doesn't understand this sudden change.
For clarification she asks, "So you weren't going to go to the office with me today if we met in person?" She has a point, and he knows it. But he says, "I wouldn't have let you go alone. But since you're not leaving the house. Does it matter that I'm not in the room with you? You can fill me in on whatever I need to know after the fact."
She knows he's right. He sees her in thought, and can feel the rise in tension, but he continues to say, "I'm just being honest Ker. I'm sorry it's upsetting you." She wants to yell at him, but she can't. He's openly telling her how he feels. And, he has a right to express himself openly and honestly. So she has to appreciate his honesty, even if it's not what she wants to hear.
Despite the air in the room thickening, she slips into thought. Instantly she thinks about a conversation she recently had with her mother. Lately she has commented about the high level of strain and stress the fake marriage scenario with Nnamdi, will likely have on their marriage, in addition to Sam's health crisis, and their life together in general. Her mom posed some poignant questions to her during that conversation, which had her in serious thought of just how unrealistic this situation has become.
The conversation hits home for her in this moment, causing her to reconcile her initial thoughts and feelings. She knows he'd rather do anything else, than to live this life if he could. But, he's only doing it because she's asking him too. She decides she has to compromise and let him step back for a moment. After all, this is a situation of her own making, not his.
Feeling badly, for not being considerate toward him, especially with everything going on lately. She takes a breath and he sees another shift in her facial expression. He's uncertain of what's going to happen next. He doesn't want to fight with her, or cause a disruption in their day. But at the same time, he counts on the fact they agreed to be honest with one another. Ergo lying to her would only make the situation worse.
They sit in silence as they both mull over their feelings. He lets her settle with her thoughts, knowing she is going to have a response for him. And he tries to prepare for it, because it's too late now to take back what's already been said.
Eventually, she digests her feelings and finally manages to craft a response. Her thoughts settle as she says, "I really don't want to meet with Judy without you. But, if you don't want to be there. I can respect your wish. Especially now, and I'm sorry I didn't reconsider how you'd be feeling about it in advance. Just promise me you won't make this a habit. The idea of you not being there with me makes me feel very uncomfortable. I like having you by my side, with us doing this together."
Immediately he empathizes with her and he's impressed with how she's responding to him emotionally. Her response is just another indicator of how far they've come in their communication when they disagree. Additionally, He recognizes the difficulty of her struggle to hear him say no. Because he doesn't do it often. And she's handling it well, and she's sincere in her acceptance of his response. Something that makes him love her even more. And, he jumps at the chance to tell her how he feels.
Lovingly, he smiles as he takes her hand into his as he says, "First, thank you for your consideration and understanding Ker. I know you'd rather have me by your side. But you deserve to have me there fully, not just body form." She understands his point, he just can't wrap his head around this situation right now. He can see her emotions relenting, and he continues as he says, "Second, I never want you to feel alone or that I am not with you on this. While this particular situation may have been at your behest; we are a team Ker, and I am with you 100%. I knew what I was saying yes to from the start, and I'm not changing the game up now. I just need a moment, okay?"
His response puts her at ease immediately; as she stares into his baby blues looking back at her, she takes a breath. He sees the calm in her eyes looking back at him, as she replies, "Okay. I love you." He grins in response as he responds, "I love you too." They share a kiss that shifts them both back into the world of calm, verses tension.
With that discussion settling, once the kiss ends she asks, "I've been meaning to ask if the girls were going to go to NY with us or not? I know Tess was still undecided last we spoke to her." He nods as she replies, "She texted me last night saying she's going to stay with Anna at my dad's. I think they both want to spend a little more time with him."
His reply causes her to ask him again, a question that's been posed to him by her parents as well her a few times. She doesn't want to belabor the point, but she can't help it. He sees the gears in her head churning away, and he already knows where this is going. Knowing her, he interrupts her thoughts as he says, "I'm sure that I want to go to NY Ker. If anything happens, we can fly back."
She looks at her husband as she replies, "Babe, I don't mean to bring it up again. I promise. It just crossed my mind because of the girls." He rubs her back as he responds, "I know. And after talking to my dad about it again. He's fine with us not being there for Thanksgiving, because we're going to be there for Christmas." She hears the reassuring tone in his voice and it does well to convince her all will be well.