"She's better - she didn't take the food thing very well but my husband got her to eat and she's stopped the compulsive handwashing, that was very worrying -"

"How did you and your husband end up taking care of her -"

"My sister had her out of - sort of default expectations, that's what you do, you get married and start filling out your child allocation - she, uh, didn't take to it, too much waking up in the middle of the night, little one kept grabbing her hair and she didn't want to cut it, that sort of thing. She never really liked babies so she wasn't - getting anything out of it - anyway she begged me to take a few weeks off and help her, her husband's a better parent than she is when he can be bothered but it'd probably take imminent danger to little one's life and limb to get him out of his studio and meanwhile my sister can't do anything over the sound of crying even when they had a nanny, which they tried - so I did that, the nanny needed a day off and I said I could just take her home and let my sister sleep - next morning she asked if we'd mind keeping her longer, it just kind of went from there. Her parents visit, they come over for dinner most nights when things are normal."

...nod. "How old is she now?"

"Two and a half - do you want to see a picture -"

"I'd love to."

Savo finds a picture. His husband is much bigger than he is and can still balance the girl on his shoulders even though if she were an Elf she'd be nearly thirty; in the picture he's doing that, and she's leaning over his head and laughing, feet kicked out at the level of his ears. Savo's visible holding the camera in a mirror behind them.

"He's going to throw out his back one of these days if he keeps doing that," Savo says, sighing at the picture. "She'll pretend to melt, like she can't walk, just to get him to haul her around - are you all right?"

"Yeah. She's a beautiful kid. I - I hope everything settles down and they can come right back from the country -"

"I hope so too."

"I wonder if there are national statistics on how children do in unusual family arrangements - Elves are very conservative about that and not willing to move children around to experiment but if there were data -"

"Adoptees do all right - well, intracaste -"

Nod. "I don't think we'll be hosting marriages off the strength of data from a different species but it might make some people worry less."

"Hosting -? Sorry, is this something you were saying before, I thought you were just talking to Avalor and I was distracted."

"She was absolutely furious over it, perhaps I'd better not tell anyone else. But Elves don't do homosexual marriages."

"She was furious -? Is this not just because you never happen to want them?"

"The Valar fix it. If you happened to. - they're not going to do that here, it's voluntary even at home, but why wouldn't you get something fixed if it were wrong -"

"I - wh-

- I'd rather die."

"I'd rather die - you're sure they won't -"

"They won't, they won't, they - never without consent and the one who does it isn't even here - why would you rather die, that leaves him alone too -"

"If I die he can remember me - I, my family is the only thing about my life that isn't falling apart - I got pushed into this job because it's not supposed to be even possible to do as much damage with it as I managed, I am terrible at everything, but I love him, so much - without him what would I be going on for -"

- nod - "I'm so sorry, I'm sorry - please don't worry -"

"I don't even understand why they - what's the - what else do they hate, do they hate - sunsets -"