As he started to speak, she forgot about the potatoes, after starting the water to boil, and turned to look at him, her eyes watching his face. It broke her heart. And it made her angry. But she wasn't surprised. His parents, from what he'd told her, seemed to be too old to be parents anymore. He was the youngest and perhaps unwanted in a way. But still, they should've been more supportive and it angered her to hear that they weren't. As he went on, she moved her peeling to the table, sitting across from him so she could talk to him properly. Her expression was sympathetic but not pitying.

"It's not nice, Leckie," she corrected him softly. "I was afraid they'd do this. You wrote to me about them... I... I'm so sorry. They should be showering you with love and memories and trying to support you." Because that's exactly what she wanted to be doing, what she could be doing if he let her someday. "Look. My dad likes you. And you're always welcome here if you need somewhere to just get away. My dad has an amazing library." She remembered Leckie's face when he'd first seen it the night of their second date, the way he looked at it in awe. He'd been so much longer then, there were lines on his face now that weren't there before. But still, he was just as handsome as the day he left. And even more so. "I... This is so awkward, I know but... I'm in love with Robert Leckie, which is you. And I want to hear about you, be there for you even if..." He didn't love her back. She finally glanced at the stack of letters, tied with a ribbon. "Those are your letters from the past year. I could give you all of them if you wanted to read them. "