"Is Evie telepathic?"
"I highly doubt it. Why?"
"She's been at the house for most of the day and it's really unsettling how she and Samuel are staring at each other but neither are speaking. I think they're telepathically communicating with one another."
"They're not doing anything but staring at each other?"
"No, they are. Kinda. Evie will raise an eyebrow, Samuel will shift uncomfortably. Evie smirks and sits back in her chair. Samuel folds in on himself and stares at the ground. Then Evie starts tapping her fingers on the arm of the chair before Samuel sends her death glares."
"Oh."
"Is that normal?"
"How long have they been doing that?"
"A while."
"I need a definite number, Soph."
"About an hour. Give or take a few minutes."
"And neither of them have broken?"
"As in spoken?"
"Yes."
"No. Neither has spoken."
"Right."
"What does this mean?"
"It means that Evie is trying to break Samuel."
"Break him?"
"Get him to talk."
"Talk?"
"Yesterday, Samuel got so drunk he couldn't really form coherent words-"
"He spoke to me on the phone."
"A rare moment of clarity, I suppose. Count yourself lucky because all the rest of us got was grunts, slurs and a lot of things being thrown at us. Do you know how much it cost to get a new phone?"
"A lot."
"Too much. Anyway, Evelyn likes to get us to open up about our emotions and seeing as Samuel did not do that yesterday, she's going to force him to do it today."
"Ok. So, what should I do?"
"Leave them to it."
"But... they're in my living room."
"And?"
"We deided not to put a TV in any of the other rooms, so where am I supposed to watch The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills?"
"..."
"Damn it. Samuel and I were just getting into that show, too."
"Sophie?"
"Yes?"
"You need to get a hobby."
"I did. Elysian was my hobby but that was also Jasmine's hobby so it can't be my hobby any longer if it continues to be her hobby."
"Get a new one then."
"Such as?"
"I don't know. Take up roller derby."
"Too violent."
"Take Alfie and Hetty out for a walk."
"Samuel and I already did that. It was a really good way for him to clear his head. Well, it was, after he stopped complaining about how London traffic was making his hangover worse."
"Sophie?"
"Yeah?"
"Read a book."
"I've read all my books."
"Then go out, go to a bookstore and buy a new one!"
"There's nothing out there that really takes my fancy right now."
"You're impossible."
"I know what I can do."
"What?"
"I can go and help Charlotte down at her shop."
"Excellent. Great plan."
"Mhm. What are you doing today? I can't believe that you were called into work on one of the days you don't work."
"Unfortunately, scorned wives don't particularly care what days I work or not. When your husband cheats on you witht the nineteen eyar old nanny and it makes the front cover of The Sun on Sunday, you call in the divorve lawyers, stat."
"I still can't belive he did that!"
"What?"
"That actor guy cheating on his wife."
"No?"
"No."
"It's not the first time. The wife says in her filing that her husband was a habitual philanderer and that he's a sex addict. It was bound to happen. For the most part, I think the wife was ok with the arrangement, so long as it didn't make the news."
"Unlucky that it happened this time, huh?"
"No, it was cleverly calculated that it would happen this time."
"Huh?"
"I have it on good authority that the wife was the one who released the video evidence to the press."
"What, why?"
"Two reasons: the first, that the guy signed a new multi-million pound deal with that stupid show of his and the wife would be entitled to half his earning from that. Secondly, she was also having an affair and if that ever became public knowledge, the wife would lose her stake in his fortune. This way, he looks like the big, bad wolf and she walks away with a generous pay cheque."
"Aren't you supposed to share that kind of information? She's taking advantage."
"I am obliged to share that information, yes. But the husband was the first to cheat so technically, the wife was only extracting her revenge by cheating on him."
"Divorce is messy."
"I think I can get this one wrapped up by the end of the week. It'll involve me being in the office all day, but I can do it."
"Well, good luck with that."
"Thanks. Hey, did you manage to get through to Jasmine?"
"Yes and no."
"Yes, how?"
"I got her voicemail."
"No, how?"
"I got her voicemail."
"What did you say?"
"I kept it short and sweet by telling her that she was stupider than I thought if she just lets Samuel slip through her fingers. She and I may not be on great terms right now, but that doesn't mean she should throw away her relationship with Samuel. Hopefully, she'll call him soon."
"And if she doesn't?"
"I unleash hell."
"Bit overdramatic."
"Nope. I think it's a nice balance between realstic and wholly proportional to the havoc Jasmine has caused."
"If you say so."
"I do say so. And I say so correctly."
"Sophie?"
"Yeah?"
"Just go and help your sister out."
"..."
"..."
"Fine, but not because you told me to go. I'm going because I want to go."
"Ok."
"It's ok to leave Samuel and Evie here alone?"
"Yes."
"Ok. But you're paying for Samuel's therapy sessions, not me."
"You're the root cause of this whole thing. You should pay for the therapy."
"How am I the root cause?!"
"Really? You need me to explain that to you?"
"..."
"Exactly. Now, I have to go. I'll see you later, 'gator."
"In a while, crocodile."
"..."
"..."
"What did you just say?"
"In a while, crocodile."
"..."
"..."
"You... crocodile... I mean... You haven't said that since... a while."
"Don't make a huge drama out of it, Daniel."
"..."
"I love you. And I'll see you in a while, crocodile."