"Yeah."

"I'm thinking of redecorating my house."

"I'm thinking of putting a big block in my truck."

"What?"

"I thought we were spouting off random thoughts?"

Maggie laughed and he smiled.

"I've been thinking of remodeling my kitchen. Painting and maybe redoing my counters."

"Okay, when does the destruction start?"

She laughed again. "I'm not where near destruction stage. I'm just going to the stores and looking at cupboards and countertops and things."

There was a long pause as Eliot thought this over. "Is this just an excuse to go shopping?"

"I don't need an excuse to go shopping."

"True enough."

"So, I've been thinking Mediterranean. White cupboards and granite countertops. What do you think?"

"Do I seem like someone that cares about interior design?"

"Honestly?" She laughed. "No."

"So what's your time frame? When do you want to start the destruction?"

"I guess that's up to the contractor."

"You're not going to do the destruction yourself? But that's the best part."

"Oh, I can just hear Nate now. He's always telling me how un-mechanical I am."

There was a long pause.

"You're frowning."

"Well, yeah."

"Tell me."

"You work with tools and stuff all day. You plan out gallery openings and do all that work with historical preservation and it pisses me off you listening to the voice of in your head telling you you can't do something."

"Eliot," she sighed. "Never mind."

"Yeah, right, never mind."

The silence was awkward. They'd never had a moment like this in any of their conversations.

"Well, I think I'll be going. I have lots of catalog to look at."

"Yeah, send a picture over when it's done."

"I will."

"Bye, Eliot."

"Bye, Maggie."

/

"Someone's trying to make up for missing Valentine's Day." Maggie's assistant commented as she came in to her office after lunch.

"Excuse me?"

"A delivery came for you."

Maggie looked over and saw a long white box, tied up with gold ribbon and beside it, a square shaped package wrapped in pale pink paper. She opened the little envelope and read the card. "Because I know you can do anything you set your mind to." It was signed: Dr. Adam Sinclair. She put the card down and went to the white box. Her assistant stood behind her, holding a vase, studiously pretending not to read over her shoulder. Maggie pulled off the gold ribbon and opened the box. Nestled inside was a sledge hammer, around the neck was a bright red bow. Down near the handle was a pair of safety glasses.

She couldn't help but laugh as she opened the square package. It wasn't a box of chocolates. Inside was a pair of books. Kitchen Remodels for the Beginner was on top, the other was a Mediterranean cookbook, each recipe came with a photo of the dish, laid out in a kitchen, as if someone was had just set supper on the table. She could see her kitchen in the photos. Some of the recipies had ingredients scratched out and marked over. Some had notes to add more or less. Some said "server with the recipe on page 9 or 12" written in the margins.

"I don't understand?" Her assistant picked up cookbook.

"I'm thinking of remodeling my kitchen."

"So he sent you sledge hammer?"

Maggie grinned. "He did."