If he was honest, the barrier had been in place since Olivia, Steph and their mother had died. It merely faded for a little while when they moved to Sing Sing. But now it appeared to be back in force. He gave a shrug and a chuckle, and said, "It's okay. Family sticks together, even when they can't get along." He laughed a little, because he had to laugh or else it'd bother him a lot more. "It'll pass eventually. And even if it doesn't, I still love them." Regardless of whether they could get along or not, and "regardless of how frustrating they are," he half-smiled. "And I don't really find you difficult. It's a part of the package, cher."
That was the face she made when she wasn't convinced, Evan had learned. He leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek. "There's two of us. If we split our time, I think we should be okay and make sure that neither of them feel neglected." He smiled. "And," he added, "we'll all spend time together, too. And maybe when they get older, they'll work as a team, you know? Keep each other entertained when we're busy." He nodded.
The puppy? Evan's face broke out into a smile and he nodded. "You decided, hm?" he asked her. The last he remembered, really, they were still undecided. But it seemed like she had. "Are we getting one of the small breeds? Or is Mari doing the deciding?" He honestly didn't mind one way or another what breed they had, but he'd wanted a dog for a long while. Evan chuckled. "But look at all of you now, hm? Kind of like the reverse of us. Distant before the apocalypse and insanely close now. It's amusing, and probably something of a relief on your part, hm?" he asked.
Her smile seemed forced, and he picked up on that. He arched an eyebrow. "What's wrong?" he asked her. The best thing, on his part, about knowing someone so well, was that he'd know if she was lying. "And don't try any of this 'nothing' business, either, because I know better. You have that look." He stopped what he was doing to listen.
"I bet it will," he nodded his head. "Oh, hell no. We're getting as many of those moments as we possibly can, cher. But at least, with our helpers, we'll have moments alone too, hm?" he asked with a little grin. "Do you want to paint one of the body-level ones?" he asked her, nodding toward the stencils. "I bet it'd mean more if we both worked on it together."