Alfred didn't like Evander's tone on the first question at all and was preparing to pivot from defensive for his own sake to defensive for hers, but before he could say anything the second question had brought him up short. Because the answer was no, in fact, but he recognized that it would be a betrayal to Zelda to say that out loud.

"Well," he said, visibly at a loss for words. She was gone often enough that the children spent most of the time with the nanny instead of with either parent, which was lucky for him really because he clearly couldn't manage any more time as their primary caregiver; he was barely managing the time he had, and it was only a few hours in the afternoons. He didn't think he minded her working again philosophically, but he certainly hadn't been ready for it yet. It wasn't as though he could have told her that, though... not after she'd told him maybe she didn't want any more children and he'd started to wonder whether he'd accidentally ruined her life.

He sipped his drink and felt color in his cheeks. His lack of an answer was probably conspicuous, but he surely wasn't doing either himself or his wife any favors with how he eventually continued: "I always pictured three or four. But not if she's — working."

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