'I think it does make sense,' said Clementine. 'It's about making a choice to make your marriage your priority, to, kind of, put that at the top of the page, as your mission statement or something.'
'Clementine Hart, are you actually using soulless corporate jargon right now?' said Sam.
'Be quiet. I just want to take this opportunity to say ...'
Sam snorted. 'Now you sound like your mother making one of her speeches.'
'I want to take this opportunity to say that I choose my marriage too.'
'Um ... thanks?'
Clementine spoke rapidly. 'So, if, for example, having a third child is your heart's desire, then that's something we need to at least talk about. I can't just ignore it, or hope you'll forget about it, which was what I was doing, to be honest. I know when I asked you a couple of weeks ago you said you didn't want another child, but that was when you were still ... or when we were both still, kind of ...'
'Crazy,' finished Sam for her. 'Do you want another child?' he said.
'I really don't,' said Clementine. 'But if you really do, then we need to talk about it.'
'What? And then we work out whether I want a baby more than you don't want a baby?' said Sam.
'Exactly,' said Clementine. 'I think that's exactly what we do.'
'I did want a third child,' said Sam. 'But now, well, it's just not something I'm thinking about right now.'
'I know,' said Clementine. 'I know. But we could, we might, one day, not forget, of course, but we might forgive. We might forgive ourselves. Anyway, I don't know why I brought that up today. It's not like we even ...'
Have sex anymore. Sleep in the same bed. Say 'I love you' anymore.
'I guess I just thought I should put that on the table,' she said.
'Consider it tabled,' said Sam.
'Great.'
'You know what my heart's desire is right now?' said Sam.
'What?'
'It's for you to get this job.'
'Right,' said Clementine.
'I don't want you going onto that stage thinking about babies. I want you thinking about whatever it is you need to think about, intonation, pitch, tempo, whatever those nancy-boy ex-boyfriends of yours would have told you to think about.'
'Well, I'll do my best,' said Clementine. She said softly, 'You're a good man, Samuel.'
'I know I am. Eat your banana,' said Sam.
'No,' said Clementine.
'You sound just like your daughter.'
'W
hich one?'
'Both of them, actually.'
The traffic was moving freely now.