As the evening wore on, conversation ebbed and flowed and food was consumed (one plate’s worth anyway).  During one of the lulls, Elijah was reminded of the varying degrees of dress he’d seen her in.  Gwen’s baggy, blue and green plaid pajamas were in complete contrast to her baby doll clothing from<i>The Fallen Angel.  </i>The current state of her hair and lack of makeup and shoes only added to the discrepancy.  She did, however, appear to be comfortably dressed, as well she should, seeing as how she was in her own home.  In the friendly confines of his condo, a pair of raggedy sweatpants and a t-shirt would be his fashion choices.<br/><br/>Which in turn reinforced how much he despised unannounced and unexpected visitations.  Elijah knew this as soon as Mrs. Smith approached him with her pile of books and laptop.  Turning her down was a realistic option, but he knew almost right away that he’d deliver the goods, for the very reason that he'd relayed to Gwen.  Besides, he was also unaware of her schedule.  She may have been in need of something from the stack, most notably her laptop.<br/><br/>“She doesn’t have a child, Elijah.  She doesn’t understand,” Gwen said.  That’s for sure, he thought, but remained quiet, only nodding in agreement.  Mary Beth would only truly understand if and when she had a child of her own.  So far, they were in complete agreement of not being a threesome during outings, mindful and suspicious of Rosalie announcing it to the entire school via bullhorn.<br/><br/>There wasn’t much evidence on Elijah’s plate that a hearty and delicious meal had been there not too long ago.  Gwen’s plate, on the other hand, resembled something that was completely untouched.  And this was excluding her pushing food around with her fork.  Dinner rearranging did not register as “touched.”<br/><br/>In a reminiscent mood, she inquired about life before Rosalie, and to a certain extent, Toby also.  Elijah remembered, very clearly, every single one of the points she touched upon.  The only drawback with that was they also drummed up memories of Madelyn.  Because of this, or in spite of it (were those the same thing?), he again held his tongue.<br/><br/>With what Gwen did next, his eyes were all over the map.  A frown morphed into a raised brow, which morphed into the wide-eyed effect.  Offering not only her number, but she also put it on the table that she’d be willing to babysit Rosalie.  Even at the last minute.  Which wasn’t guaranteed to happen, of course.  It was touching to Elijah that she would offer that, knowing all about Mary Beth.  It was also immediately clear to him that he would never, ever ask her to look after his daughter while being out or with M.B.  Being stuck at work or whatever, however, and he’d at least consider it.<br/><br/>Bringing up his contact info on his smartphone, he showed her the screen with his number, so she knew that if ever those digits popped up for her consideration, that the person on the other end was neither a stalker nor Martin, or a combination of the two.  Though in reality, that was a redundancy.  The advice she offered about Mary Beth was wise, as well as appreciated.  No surprise there, since he knew by now that her head was screwed on right.  A little torque to the left, with a slight rotation to the right, and Gwen was peachy.  No nuts or bolts required tightening.<br/><br/>“I’m not taking a loan for the schooling,” she declared.  Well, there it was, though this came as no real surprise to Elijah.  He knew his parade would be rained upon, and he’d forgotten his umbrella.  “But . . .” she added.  What’s this?  Could the forecast truly be inaccurate?  Cloudy, but perhaps no realistic chance of precipitation?  Gwen then mentioned a partnership, and a deal of her own.  A ray of sunshine fought its way through all that gray.  He’d provide the start-up money, and she would do the work.  She also proposed a 50-50 split.  This didn’t seem fair to him at all.<br/><br/>A counter-offer was put forth.  “Y’know, Gwen, since you’re doing all the work, that doesn’t sound right,” he pointed out.  “How about 60-40 in your favor instead?  Or even 65-35?”  Those numbers seemed much more reasonable to him, since he wasn’t doing a damn thing but provide the funding.  Elijah was confident they’d reach an agreement with the numbers, and those were just details anyway.  He was ecstatic that she accepted his proposition.<br/><br/>“If you’re prepared to have a partner, not a woman in your debt, I’m in.  If not, no,” she specified.<br/><br/>It didn’t take him long to reply.  “Deal,” he simply stated.  “I’ll have a chat with the shop’s finance department, see if they can assist with the accounting side of things.”  With that, he held out his hand to seal the deal.  In his world, contracts were unnecessary.  Your word was enough and it was golden.<br/><br/>Smitten with excitement at her acceptance, he failed to thoroughly think things through.  Had he done so, he would have realized that a partnership means working in proximity of one another.  Of regularly spending time with each other.  Of possibly needing to be at one or the other’s place of residence.  What would Mary Beth think of, and how would she feel about this “partnership?”<br/><br/>Hadn’t even crossed Elijah’s mind.  Not yet, anyway.