"Is something wrong?"

Walter looked over at Ralph. "Why?"

"You're acting weird."

He wasn't acting weird. He was reading an article on his phone, sitting in the chair in the Dineen living room. Ralph was sitting adjacent to him on the couch on his laptop. This was a very, very normal afternoon. "How am I acting weird?"

"I don't know." Ralph shifted his weight. "Your…well, it seems tense. When is Mom getting home?"

"She had to make some calls to clients from the phone in the garage. She'll be home in a bit."

"Walter, I can tell that you want to say something, and I can tell that she left us together on purpose. What's the matter?"

Walter set his phone on the table. "I actually did want to talk to you about something."

Ralph shrugged. "Okay. Is something wrong? Is it Mom?"

Walter shook his head. "No. I mean, yes. I mean, nothing is wrong with her. But this does have to do with her."

"It's barely February, so I know this isn't about her birthday."

"No." Walter put his hands together. "The movie you told her you went to see a few days ago is rated R. You're fourteen. We know you didn't go to the movies."

Ralph was silent for a moment, unmoving, and then he sighed. "Dammit."

"Language."

"It's not like I said – "

"Ralph."

His shoulders sagged. "Sorry. Look, I just didn't want to tell her where I was really going."

"That seems to usually be the motivation for lying about your whereabouts, yes." Walter folded his arms. "Look, she just worries about you. And since so much of everything that has happened between her and I has to do with being open with each other, I just think it's important for your relationship with her, too."

Ralph lifted a foot, lightly banging the heel of his shoe against the toe of his other one. "Okay. So you know my friend Brianna, right?"

"I've heard her mentioned."

"So she apparently has an…interesting…family life. They're not close at all. No ride – or – die situations. Her dad lost his job, her mom is angry about it, they will be struggling if he doesn't get a new one soon and so I had told her about when Mom was a waitress and how she had to give up so much for me, thinking it would make her feel better because, you know, I can relate and all that. But she just started crying. Her family isn't like that. They're all very selfish people. So I felt bad, the rest of our friends felt bad, and we took her to San Diego for the day to get her mind off everything. Sable's sister drove us. I knew I would have to leave before you guys got occupied and I needed a little money, so I had to account for that. So I said we were going to a movie. Apparently I didn't put enough thought into the lie."

"You thought a movie was a good enough cover story for a trip to another city that's two hours away?"

"Did either of you question what time I got home? I beat you guys back here."

"True." Walter's foot was bouncing, making his knee jump. "I don't think your mom would like you going to San Diego without an adult."

"You're really zeroing in on why I didn't tell her. And Sable's sister is seventeen. She's almost an adult."

"Seventeen year olds don't know jack."

"She wasn't giving relationship advice, Walter, she was driving a car."

"Just don't lie to your mother anymore. Can we both agree to do that? Or to…not do that?"

"I was just trying to be there for her. We all know what it's like to go through stuff."

"And you're drawn to people who need help. I know. I am, too. And sometimes it's hard to tell what part of that is good and what part of that is a fatal flaw. But your mom is a loving, caring person, too. If you tell her you're helping a friend get through hard times, she might be more lenient." He cocked his head. "Unless there's something more to this?"

"What more could there be?"

Walter shrugged. "You seem to have gotten over Patty."

"That was almost a year ago. I'm not dating Brianna."

"Do you want to?"

"She's nice. And funny, and sweet. But for now, that's it."

Walter nodded. "I'd like to meet her."

"Stop it."

"What? I'm just saying."

Ralph shrugged, looking back at his laptop. "I'm sure you will at some point."

Paige couldn't think of anyone else to call, so she hoped that Walter had already spoken to Ralph. He could take a while to get to the point sometimes. She'd told him not to text her unless it was serious, so providing they had already had the conversation, her son wasn't doing drugs. That was a relief.

Paige jumped when the garage's door opened a split second before she put her hand on the knob. "Oh!"

"Oh!" Echoed Florence, looking just as surprised.

"Hey. I'm the only one here," Paige said. "Who were you looking for?"

"You, actually," Florence said. "I saw your car. I have a hypothetical scenario I'd like to run by you, if that's alright."

Paige felt suddenly apprehensive. "Is this a science thing?"

"It's not," Florence said. "I've come to you because I believe you're the best equipped to give me an answer."

"Oh. Okay, then. Sure." She nodded. "Come in." She dropped her purse back down. "What's…what's going on, Florence?"

"Firstly, I need you to promise me you won't take my question and try to figure out why I'm asking it. Because you probably won't be able to and I don't want you to make assumptions and start rumors. I – I don't mean that in an accusatory way. But you know how things fly around here."

Paige cocked her head. "Uh huh." When she was met with silence, she realized Florence was still waiting for an answer. "Yes. I promise."

"Plus, if you try to figure out why I'm asking, that might skew your answer."

"What is it, Florence?"

"Ah. I've upset you. I apologize." She shifted her weight. "So. From what I understand, Toby proposed to Happy. Then she thought she was pregnant. That's correct?"

"Uh, well…" Paige shook her head, deciding to wait and see what Florence was going to ask before unloading all those details. "Yes."

"So the proposal happened before he knew of the supposed pregnancy."

"That's correct."

"Okay. So…" Florence sat down in the rolling chair. "Say…say Toby already had the ring. But Happy told him she was pregnant first. Then he proposed sometime afterward. Do you think that Happy would have thought that he was asking her to marry him because they thought they were having a baby? And do you think Toby would have wished he would have proposed sooner, so she wouldn't think that?"

Paige bit the inside of her cheek.

"Don't try and figure out why I'm asking!" Florence said.

"I'm not," Paige said, "I'm just thinking about how to answer," wanting to add don't be so defensive but deciding against it. Florence was right – if she did try to answer based on whatever she could come up with as a reason for the inquiry, she could give biased advice. It was incredible how much Florence thought like Walter.

"I don't think Happy would have thought he was just proposing because he thought she was pregnant, unless his first response to that news was dropping to his knee. But context is important, and she knew he loved her, so I think she would know he was coming from a good place with it. As for Toby, I don't think he would have wished he'd have proposed sooner, at least not from that perspective. He would have loved to have married her years before he did, sure, but I don't think he would have been like 'drat, I should have proposed before this announcement' because they didn't actually end up getting engaged until after."

Florence nodded. "I see."

"Is everything okay?" It wasn't as if Paige could think of any reason she would ask this question where something was wrong, but she also really couldn't, if she was honest with herself, think of why Florence was asking this. It wasn't like she and Sylvester were actively planning on getting married. Perhaps it was her recent engagement to Walter.

"Yes." Florence said quickly. "I have to get back to…work. But I appreciate your insight."

"Yeah…no problem," Paige said. "You're sure you're okay?" Something occurred to her. "Does this have anything to do with you and Happy having problems?"

Florence gave a short laugh. "I don't think even self – sacrifice could endear me to her at this point. I'm refusing to let it bother me. And I'm kinda sorta mostly succeeding. No. Nothing to do with her. I'd rather not talk about it if that's alright with you."

"Sure, sure. I hope I helped."

"You did." Florence nodded. "Really. I don't want to give details, but you did. You helped a lot."