The touch was distracting. It made him think about her touching him and it pushed other thoughts away, so that there was such distance, he had a hard time attributing the appropriate gravity to the conversation. After a moment, he nodded reluctant acquiesce to her request to drop the dumbwaiter down, then he replied, with even more hesitation, "She... well." He tried to think of a way to explain it. "I'm hers. There is no question in her mind. To her it's all for... for 'us.'" He chanced a glance upward to see her reaction.