Jackie was happy to play pretend if Ben allowed it. Sometimes it was very easy to forget about the difficulties they faced in their lives when they could have times like this, days like today. "Did you say that? I somehow missed it. It was probably around the time I vowed to do that thing with my tongue as often as possible." Her tongue was indeed stuck out and waggled at him, something more fitting for a horny teenage girl than a wife and mother-to-be.

It was a good thing he was paying attention to where they were going because Jackie would have kept on walking if not for the tug that geared her around the corner. "Who said I have to do peaceful? I would have Adam around to cause trouble with me while you're nappin'." Her smile was wide and eased into something much more relaxed. "A cabin sounds wonderful, Ben. Especially if it's on a lake. The three of us having that time alone would be great and besides, I think it's important for Adam to have a really good summer. This is his last summer as only child afterall."

He manages to stay put together enough when she just mentions the magic she can work, but when she demonstrates? He falters a step -- plays it up, too, putting his free hand to his chest like it's hard to catch his breath for a moment. Breaks character quickly, though, "You know, now that you mention it, I think you've been slacking on that..."

Manages not to laugh, but he's fighting to keep his smile under control. "Okay, fair point. You two can get lost in the woods, and I'll just sleep the day away. Perfect." He lets go of her hand, but it's just to put his arm loosely around her shoulders; his fingertips play idly along the bare skin of her exposed shoulder. "Yeah, you're right about that. Last one as an only child..." There's something thoughtful in the trail-off, and after a short pause, "I talked to Ella on Sunday. Father's Day, you know. She called," maybe that made it better? He hoped? That she'd called him, and not the other way around. "We're thinking maybe in a few weeks he can make the trip back to Vancouver and he can stay with her for a little while. Month or so. So maybe in a couple of weeks, we can do this little cabin-by-the-lake family vacation, and then you could take him to the airport in Atlanta for me?" Explains his earlier hesitation, anyway.

"Excuse you? Slacking? I'm not sure if you're bold enough to think I won't cut you off an' stop altogether or if you're tryin' to tease me into showin' you up. I think it's the latter, but I don't think I care enough to stop myself later on tonight."

She gave a snotty wiggle of her head and turned her attention straight ahead. "We wouldn't be lost in the woods, I'm a professional. And he's Canadian so he's gotta be a natural. Talkin' to the moose and stuff." With his arm around her shoulder she leaned into him just a tad. Her energy was still up, but she could tell it was fading little by little. She was content to let him ponder his son's last summer as an only child, but the mention of Ella had an automatic effect on her. Lips pursing and her posture tightening while she listened. "Right." That was all she had to say about Ella calling. She wasn't aware of that call, or maybe she had heard Ben on the phone and thought nothing of it. What did it matter? It shouldn't, yet it did.

"Sure, I think that would work out. Somewhere in there I can take him to see Mama and Daddy, too. They're still wantin' to see him and I need to tell them about the bundle on the way. Of course I can take him to the airport. That goes without sayin'. All we have to do is sit him down and see what he wants to do." She had skirted the subject of Ella, turned it more on Adam than anything else. As Jackie always said, that was his Mama and there was no way around it. Still, it didn't make it any easier to deal with the subject of her when it came around.

"Talking to the moose and stuff," echoed, faintly amused. He doesn't stop the absent trace of his fingers against her skin, not even when he can feel her posture stiffening, can sense the tension in her. He lets her talk through it, as much as she will. "Sure, yeah. I think he'll be okay with it. He's got a couple more weeks at day camp, so any time after that... we can do our thing, and then he can go with you. Maybe your parents can even pick him up in Atlanta when he's ready to come home, and he can spend time with just them. I think they'd all like that." He finally stops the movement of his fingers against her skin, cups his hand around her shoulder instead. "Thanks for being okay with taking him. Means a lot."

He's chewing over something else to say -- sort of literally, biting his lower lip for a moment first. The split in it is nearly healed, one of the last visible injuries on him. Eventually, "I told her you're pregnant. She's happy for us."

Ben lags behind for a few seconds, sighing heavily, dropping his head and rubbing at his forehead, but it's not for long, and he's taller than her, and it's easy for him to catch up. He doesn't quite grab her by the arm, but his hand does find the crook of her elbow, and it seems like he's at least trying to slow her down. "Well, if it's too late, fine. Let's talk about it. First off -- you tend to put words in my mouth a lot when you're talking about Ella. Like I think she's a saint, can do no wrong, whatever. I've never said anything like that, Jackie. I don't think that." He's still calm, maybe unexpectedly. "Which is one way I can tell you've got some kind of problem with her, like you think she's going to come between us, or like you need to live up to some kind of standard, or..." He trails off, shrugging, but then he sighs again. "Honesty, Jackie." It's a quiet reminder. "C'mon."

She doesn't slow down when he does, but when he catches her by the elbow she decreases her pace to match his. As hard as it was to believe, Jackie really wasn't attempting to cause a scene in front of their neighbors. Somehow she manages to stay quiet during everything he says until she talks about a standard set by Ella. Jackie lets out an unstoppable dry laugh when he says it. "The only way I use Ella as guidance in my life is as a manual for how to not handle anything at all, ever. She is not at a level I aim for." Instantly she regretted saying it. Not because it was untrue by any means but because she really was attempting to stick to the idea of 'if you can't say anything nice...'. She tugged at her arm, not an over the top gesture, but so irritated she didn't want his hand on her. "See, Why? Why, Ben? Why do we have to go here? Do you want a reason to be pissed off at me? If that's the case I can come up with a million and two ways to get you worked up and none of 'em will involve Ella."

His brow furrows further when she laughs, and he does finally look annoyed when she lets that barb go, but it's brief, and he gets it under control quick enough. He lets go of her arm when she pulls away, but it's a slow movement, and his hand just falls to his side afterward; he doesn't tuck it into his hoodie's pocket like he usually might. "No, I don't want to be pissed at you. It's just... You're not usually like this about people. Spiteful. So that would give me enough reason to be concerned. But that it's about somebody that matters to me just makes it a lot worse." He glances aside to her, and his jaw is shifted a little to one side; he's thinking something over, but whatever it is, he doesn't voice it.

"Should I have called her a whore when I first met her, too? Would that have set a lower bar for how nice I have to be to her for the rest of my life? Though, y'know, I am usually so nice to people who slam doors in my face for no good reason, I don't know why I'm treatin' her so differently." Finally, after steadily walking the block and just about reaching home she came to a stop and pointed at him. "That! Just stop that. I don't care if it's true, I don't want to hear it. Ella is so important. Ella is a big part of my life. I'm always goin' to care for Ella. I love Ella." Her hands were making a chatter motion mid-air as she said it all. "I don't want to hear about how head over heels you are about your frickin' ex. Sleep on the goddamn couch tonight and use the quiet time to call her an' tell her all about it." Her pace picked right up, brushing past him and trying to make it the final stretch to the house before he could catch up without her busting out into a full on run.

He actually looks a little taken aback at the rant, and it's a quick cycle of emotions after it -- surprised, hurt, annoyed -- he settles on the last one when she moves past him, or tries to, because he's trying to grab her by the hand to stop her and pull her back. It's not violent or forceful, he doesn't tug, but it's clear he doesn't want to leave it like this tonight, either. "Jackie, goddammit--" There's something strange about his tone then. Desperate, panicked? It's gone when he goes on, though. "See? Words in my mouth. I never said any of that. Why the hell are you so set on turning this around on me? --and I'm not sleeping on the damn couch because you have a problem with me because of things I didn't even say, Jackie. What the hell."

She stops when he takes her by the hand, but with the way she's trying to wriggle her fingers out of his grasp and shake him off it doesn't seem she intends to stay like that long. "Why are you so set on forcin' me to be okay with her? No, not even okay with her. You want me to like her and I don't want to and you can't make me." It was like talking to a fussy child, really. "You always tell me how important she is to you. You just said how it's horrible for me to be so spiteful about someone who matters so much to you. But fine, I'll sleep on the couch. Wherever you're not, I'm there. Because Ella is more important to you than us havin' one good night after everything has been straight hell." Hand wriggled free and she turned on her heels, making her way for home.

He should just leave. Part of him wants to -- just go, hide out in his apartment. Avoid all this. The dull headache that's set in makes that choice even more attractive. But it's what he would've done with Ella -- by his own choice, sometimes, and sometimes not -- and that hadn't worked, so he toughs it out. Makes himself stay. He leaves it alone, the things she misstates -- he knows there's no getting through to her tonight, knows pushing it further isn't going to get anywhere -- so instead he just follows after her, alongside her, touches the back of her arm even though it'll probably just annoy her. "Stop it." Quiet. "That's not true. And I don't want us going to sleep mad. I'll stay on the couch if you want, but..." Shaking his head a little, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Life's too short."

He touches her arm and she sidesteps away. She wasn't having it, not right now, not tonight. "If you didn't want us goin' to sleep mad then you should have thought about it a hell of a lot sooner when you were forcin' the Ella issue. You know how that ends. One night, you couldn't let it go. I don't care where you sleep, I'm done for tonight. Life too short or not." She crossed his path, but only so she could move ahead of him up the walkway to their house.