His sincerity... It calms me down.
"As a woman," I continued, "I would never recommend a gift like that to a man... knowing that I have exactly the same. Less with the meaning it has."
I pause.
"That's not helping, Ethan."
My voice is not hard, but it is firm.
"That's provoking."
He lowers his gaze for a moment, as if fitting pieces together.
"You're right," he says.
And he doesn't say it just to say it. He says it... because he understands it.
I take a deep breath.
"I feel like I have a pending conversation with her."
His eyes come back to me.
"A conversation?"
I nod.
"Yes... but not as you think."
I rest both hands on the table.
"It's not to fight for you."
I make that clear, I had to let him know. Very clear.
"It's not a discussion of "who gets whom.""
I gently deny.
