Though Marigold didn't seem to care one way or the other, Evan was genuinely excited. He loved teaching people things, and Marigold was smarter than most people her age. “It'll be fun,” he said with a little smile. “First thing's first. I'll teach you a brand new nickname. From now on, I'm going to call you petite papillon. Which means little butterfly.” He took a couple of minutes, working with Marigold on how to pronounce her new nickname, and smiled with pride when she seemed to catch on in no time. “You're a natural, papillon!”
Snorting a laugh when she told him that it was cute when he was clumsy, he shook his head in amusement. “I'll remember to tell that to past you,” he gave her a little grin. “You always used to yell at me and you got this little furrow in your brow that I always used to get so annoyed by... but now I think it's cute.” She was cute when she was mad. That, even though it was a cliché, he knew was true. “We've certainly seen our fair share of trouble, though, haven't we, cher?”
When Marigold explained why Cinderella was her favorite, Evan smiled a little bit. The way she talked sometimes was so adorable. When they returned to Sing Sing, he'd have to draw her a picture of herself as Cinderella. Or something like that. “So you want some glass slippers, huh?” He'd have to use plastic, but he was pretty sure someone could come up with something. “Don't know if I can do anything about the mouse horses, but the shoes, I can do.”
It was nice to see her relax, even if it was only for a little while. She had the most stress of anyone he'd known for awhile, so seeing her just let go of it for a little while was a nice change. For the first time in a long time, it seemed like she was cutting loose. Until that little sigh. “Try not to worry, cher,” he reassured her again.
He laughed again and shrugged a shoulder. “Well then. I'm a pretty good cleaner,” he wagged his eyebrows, but he was sure that his expression told her that he was joking. “Did you maybe want to let Mari watch a movie with Rae and Eli later? Have a little alone time and maybe go for a walk or something? If not, it's okay. I understand. I just... wanted to put the offer out there.”