With barely an upward flick of his eyes which immediately settled on Bethany, outward appearance showed that he paid little heed to what she had said. It was not the case.
Inwardly, he felt the stirring of cold tension returning along the steely lines of his shoulders in record time. It was a simple question, on the surface of it, but he'd heard the like of it far too many times and let it tip off too many volatile arguments than to believe she asked without any accusation lurking behind it. Difficult to know if she had dedicated herself to the great hours she spent belittling his sense of paternal undertakings, or if it was just an irritatingly natural knack, but he never appreciated having them questioned. As if he wouldn't have liked a request to his daughter - and always his daughter, whatever she said about him - for time together to be met with easy acceptance.
His initial reaction was to therefore tell his wife any variant of 'be quiet' and cut that potential direction of conversation off in its birth. But since he had decided she might have some minimal important discussion inside her, he instead gave her a to-the-point answer that was, at least, an honest one.
"No. These involve how things are going at the school."