She teases, but there's something about how quiet she is beforehand that tips him off. Has him thinking that maybe this isn't serving as the best possible distraction from everything. Not that he can begin to wrap his mind around the how or why: he's not meant for deep analysis. Wasn't born for it or brought into it, and even in his working years he spent his days sorting business deals with a sort of short-sighted stubbornness that lost them more jobs than it won.

It's why Tess ran things, later on. Worked out better that way.

"Hmph. Give an old man a break every now and then. God knows I'm not as young as I used to be."

--or half as good at this.