Pearl mirrors the not-smile, a reflex. She's heard that okay before,from more than one person. The okay that isn't. Saying things are better than what you're feeling can be safer. Details aren't important, in the end. Her friend is feeling badly, and that's all she needs to know. But another gentle nudge, anyway. "I don't think he'd complain. Seeing you."

It's a liberty too far, but Pearl railroads on, forward. Of course Lucy's exhausted.She's thought a lot about what it must be like in the head of a Support. It makes her crawl out of her skin, the idea of all that watching. It's even like that now, standing, watching all this blowback with no real way to lift any weight.

"Do YOU want some tea? Or..." she remembers the strawberries behind them. Soup? Or something?"