What she should and shouldn't be doing had been a source of contention over the past few months. She shouldn't be lying to Ari. She shouldn't be letting Ben see Elliott behind everyone's back. She shouldn't be trying to mislead Zelda. She shouldn't worry about Ben, but she'd done all the others when she shouldn't have, so why not this one, too? If she hadn't been so invested in ensuring that Ben thought this entire arrangement wasn't likely to cause the downward spiral of her marriage she might have said as much. Instead she merely smiled, but in her eyes the worry was still there.
She stopped next to the picture Ben had picked out out of all the ones hanging on the wall, and yet another pang of guilt hit her. It was a picture of Ari and Elliott shortly after Elliott had turned six-months-old. He was smaller and blonder, his features much less defined; he looked more like Dionisia there, with his soft chocolate brown eyes and heart-shaped face. Nothing like Ari—but less like Ben than he did now.
"Yes," she answered, "Elliott and my husband. His hair has darkened in the last year—I suspect it'll darken even more as he gets older. My sister was the same way." She hadn't seen Tristessa in years, but that had been one of the differences between them: Dionisia had always been blonde, while her sister was considered a brunette by the time they were older children. She wondered if Elliott would be the same, and if it would make him look more like Ben.
She stopped next to the picture Ben had picked out out of all the ones hanging on the wall, and yet another pang of guilt hit her. It was a picture of Ari and Elliott shortly after Elliott had turned six-months-old. He was smaller and blonder, his features much less defined; he looked more like Dionisia there, with his soft chocolate brown eyes and heart-shaped face. Nothing like Ari—but less like Ben than he did now.
"Yes," she answered, "Elliott and my husband. His hair has darkened in the last year—I suspect it'll darken even more as he gets older. My sister was the same way." She hadn't seen Tristessa in years, but that had been one of the differences between them: Dionisia had always been blonde, while her sister was considered a brunette by the time they were older children. She wondered if Elliott would be the same, and if it would make him look more like Ben.
