Emily: "Well the hamster and the one person, yes. Thankfully I don't think Mary's parents saw anything."
Tristan: "You seem to get along with them really well."
Emily: "Yeah, I love them. They're the closest thing to a real family I had growing up, to be honest."
Tristan: "What happened to your own family, if you don't mind me asking?"

Emily: "You don't want to hear my sob story."
Tristan: "I can tell you my own and we can compare notes. Mine has a bratty little brother."

Emily smiled- Tristan was amazed by how easy it was for him to get lost in it.

Emily: "It's nothing that interesting- just your typical mom-always-at-work-or-with-new-boyfriend, dad-in-jail sort of thing. Lots of time alone, boring really."
Tristan: "I'm so sorry, Emily."

Emily: "Oh it's ok- really. Mary's my real family, anyway. Wow, that sounds so hokey all of the sudden."
Tristan: "No, I completely understand."

Emily: "You and James are really close."
Tristan: "He's like a brother to me."

The sound of James & Joseph laughing uproariously from the living room interrupted Tristan's train of thought.

Tristan: "A mentally unstable brother that you always worry about inviting to social gatherings."
Emily: "But always entertaining, at any rate."

Tristan: "Shall we have cake now?"
Emily: "Sounds good- I'll get the plates and forks. You can be in charge of making sure everyone's slice is exactly the same size."
Tristan: "That's a lot of responsibility to place on one person."
Emily: "If anyone can handle it, it's you."

Tristan: "I hope you like lemon, by the way."
Emily: "You're kidding! That's my favorite! Is that lemon zest in the frosting?"
Tristan: "Yeah, there's some in the actual cake part, too."
Emily: "You actually made this cake, didn't you? As in, it didn't come out of a box."

Tristan: "Erm... I had all the ingredients just lying around. Didn't want them to go to waste."
Emily: "I'm floored!"

Andy: "Are you trying to steal my girlfriend, Tristan?"

Andy's voice was lighthearted, joking. It made Tristan sick. He briefly entertained the notion of strangling him right then and there in the kitchen, but didn't think that was proper dinner party etiquette.

Emily: "We're getting dessert ready. Can you believe he made this cake from scratch?!"
Andy: "The boy is just full of surprises, isn't he? What other talents are you hiding from us, Tristan?"

Tristan: "If I told you, Andrew, I'd just have to kill you. Then there'd be all sorts of paperwork to fill out and it just wouldn't be worth the effort."

Andy: "Bureaucracy… such a kill-joy."

Emily: "Cake?"