Alfred had expected the conversation to fizzle to a halt at this point, so the return to the subject of the rocking chair was unexpected. He raised his eyebrows and didn't say anything for a second, as though he was trying to figure out what the catch was. Evander had seemed adamant about it just a moment ago, and it wasn't like his brother to change his mind easily. "Ah, thanks," he finally replied when he had turned the offer over enough to decide it may have been in earnest.
Wait — did this concession mean that he now owed something to Evander? They were at that difficult stage of an argument where Alfred wasn't sure whether it had ended or whether they ought to still be vying to win. But he did want the rocking chair, so he wasn't going to turn around and offer it back just to score himself a point. He didn't think he had anything else he could offer — the only thing that came to mind was that maybe Zelda could make something for the baby, because that seemed like the sort of thing women did, but he should probably confirm that she even knew how to knit before he volunteered her for a baby blanket or something. "Do you have a name already?" he asked, though he was mostly stalling.
Wait — did this concession mean that he now owed something to Evander? They were at that difficult stage of an argument where Alfred wasn't sure whether it had ended or whether they ought to still be vying to win. But he did want the rocking chair, so he wasn't going to turn around and offer it back just to score himself a point. He didn't think he had anything else he could offer — the only thing that came to mind was that maybe Zelda could make something for the baby, because that seemed like the sort of thing women did, but he should probably confirm that she even knew how to knit before he volunteered her for a baby blanket or something. "Do you have a name already?" he asked, though he was mostly stalling.
MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER