Evan chuckled. “I've never been able to do that. My mother always used to call me more of a mother than she was, because she was always content to throw things into a gift bag, but I wasn't.” He shrugged. “I always made a big deal about the Christmas rigamarole. Traditionalism and all that.” It was silly, but it was what it was.
“If you ask me, she could use a little juvenility once in awhile.” George always acted far older than her age, and maybe Evan was partially responsible for that. All of them had been forced to grow up faster than they wanted to, thanks to their father's disappearing act. “And besides, I don't see why she wouldn't like it. She likes cute things, she just doesn't really get a chance to enjoy them anymore. She'll like it, and maybe it;ll lighten her up a little bit.”
Her reaction made him blink in surprise. He wasn't accusatory, just surprised, and her snapping was a little bit of an overreaction. “Well, whether it meant something or not, I'm sure that if someone kissed me like that, you'd want to know as soon as it happened, right? If I kept it hidden, for even a couple of days, it'd seem like a bigger deal than it already is...” he added. “Screwing with your head? How so?” If she was that kind of person, maybe she didn't belong on the compound after all. “What'd you do? I mean, what was your reaction?” he asked her.
When it came to things like this, relationships and the people he cared about, Evan didn't really believe in forbidding them to do anything. If it was something worthy of forbidding, he wanted to hope that they'd choose not to do it on their own, and he wouldn't have to do it, but with Leah's determination to put herself at risk... it seemed like it was what he needed to do.
“Okay, that's all well and good, but you're going out to begin with. With a child inside you. Our child,” he spoke, his tone a little bit less than level. “Even if it isn't why the baby isn't moving? What if you get bitten while you're out there? And if the baby isn't immune? Is it worth it to you, to risk that?” Because if it was... Evan didn't really know what he was going to do about it.