It's another summer's day and Logan is trying to have a business meeting in the study while the kids play out in the hall. Somehow Roman and Shiv end up wrestling on the floor, Kendall rolling his eyes in the corner. Logan, who has already stuck his head out to yell at them several times, comes storming out of the study and pulls his son and daughter apart.
"What are you doing?" he yells, slapping Roman across the face. "You don't hit a girl. She's weaker than you."
I'm weaker than you, Roman thinks, but he can only gawk.
"We were just playing," says Shiv.
"Go and play separately. Kendall, upstairs. Roman, outside. Siobhan, you stay here."
Roman turns and stumbles out to the pool, tears burning in his eyes. He's still fuming at the unfairness of everything when he sees one of his father's friends approaching out of the corner of his eye. His heart sinks.
"Are you okay?" asks the man.
"Yeah, great." I don't need comforting, thanks.
"We've finished our meeting. Your father's looking for you."
Roman shrugs carelessly, stepping away from the man.
"Wanna see my tortoise?" the man asks.
Roman briefly wonders if this is a metaphor. "You have a tortoise?"
"Yeah. Look." The man pulls a photograph out of his wallet. "He's really old. Even older than me."
Roman looks at the photo doubtfully. "Who's the lady holding him?"
"My wife Gerri. You know Gerri?"
He does know Gerri, vaguely. She works for the company too, one of the few women in an important job there. Shiv once said she wanted to be like Gerri when she grew up. Roman said You'll have to get pretty.
Logan comes out before Roman can ask any more questions about the tortoise. "Ah, you found him, Baird. Thank you."
"No problem," says Baird cheerfully. He smiles at Roman and leaves him with his father.
"Sorry I lost my temper," says Logan. "I just don't like seeing Siobhan upset."
"I know." Everyone knows Shiv is Logan's favourite.
"I had a sister too, you know," says Logan. Roman shakes his head. "Rose. She died when I was younger than you are now."
Roman doesn't ask how. Instead he asks stupidly, "How come you never mentioned her before?"
"Because it makes me sad, I suppose." There are tears in his father's eyes, to Roman's alarm. He contemplates hugging Logan but knows he wouldn't like that, would probably call him gay.
"Sorry," he mutters instead.
Logan pats his head. "We understand each other, don't we Rome?" He almost never calls him Rome, it's usually either Roman or his embarrassing birth name Romulus, occasionally Moron.
Roman nods, feeling lighter in spite of his bruised cheek. "Yeah, we do."
"Good boy."