But his eyes were troubled.
I didn’t need troubled eyes. We had enough trouble.
So I repeated, sharper this time, “Tor, what?”
He held my eyes a moment then he looked to Phoebe, “She returned?”
I looked back to Phoebe to see her nod but she replied verbally too, “Yep.”
“Did she wish to return?” Tor asked.
This was an interesting question and his stress of “wish” made it more so.
Phoebe shook her head. “I don’t know, I mean, I’m not sure.”
“Do you know how she returned?” Tor went on.
Now that was an excellent question.
Phoebe shook her head again. “No, but I can ask Brianna to ask Marlene.”
“Please do so,” Tor murmured then, eyes locked on Phoebe, he finished, “Immediately.”
“Righty ho,” Phoebe whispered because my friend might be a nut but she was far from stupid but even an idiot could read Tor’s intensity. So she immediately pushed herself up, put her cup down on the coffee table then turned and then twisted to hang over the arm of the chair to grab her bag from the floor and get her phone.
Tor took another sip of coffee and it wasn’t hard to read that he was doing this to avoid me even though I was pressed to his side.
“Baby,” I called.
“Mm,” he murmured.
Totally avoiding me.
“Uh, Tor,” I called again and he turned his head to me. “What aren’t you telling me?”
Finally, he answered, it was just not the right answer.
“What it is is not for your ears.”
“Tor –” I started warningly.
He put his mug down on the side table, twisted his torso so he was facing me and placed his other hand light on my hip. “Cora, it is not for your ears. Trust me.”
“Uh, big guy, do you think there is anything that has to do with any of this that I shouldn’t know?”
“Yes,” he replied immediately. “This.”
“I’m a big girl, I can take it.”
“My love, I don’t want you to take it.”
“I’m not certain that’s your choice,” I returned.
He held my eyes and I held his right back.
Then he sighed.
Then, as Phoebe got up, murmuring into the phone and moving toward the kitchen, Tor spoke.