Oh — shit — action stations, thought Lyra. With a hard and bright smile and a definitive "hokay! Things to do!" she looped her arm through Archer's to walk him out, but for a second he did not budge. It was like she'd looped her arm through a statue, his muscle utterly unmovable. But only for a moment, and then he let her march him out of the cafe, and Lyra's mind didn't linger on that moment. "This isn't your fault," she told him, feeling sorry for him because whatever had happened between Archer's absent dad and Carla's mom wasn't his fault, and here she was tangling him up in, well, something dramatic. But Carla was family and Carla was upset and it raised a protective streak in Lyra. "You had things to do anyway, didn't you?" she kept speaking, words like a torrent she wasn't letting him cross. "You should go and do those things. But I'm gonna talk to you later, okay?" Best not to say anything else, best not to speculate, since Lyra's speculation began and ended with 'Archer's dad did something shit'. Had Carla ever said anything about #MeToo?
"I hope Rosario's mom's alright," Archer said, making Lyra feel a bit better - god he was nice, and Lyra flashed him a smile.
"Thanks, now get, I gotta," she jabbed her thumb back through the cafe door, then waved him off, and hurried back to Rosario's side.