Calvin wanted to switch his weight again so that he could glance at her and make it seem like it was just a natural consequence of how they were positioned, but he was leery of coming across as fidgety if he moved again so soon after he'd settled in to this position to make the tea. Which meant that if he wanted to look at her, he had to be openly intentional about it. He did a quick mental calculus and decided it was worth the risk. She'd just revealed that her father wasn't doing well; it was a normal, empathetic human response to give her some undivided attention on hearing that. Of course he'd already known, so his response was feigned, but it would have been a normal empathetic response under other circumstances.

"I'm sure you do more than you know just by being here," he said, with sincerity. To her this probably came across like the sort of generalized comment a healer could make about anyone visiting a loved one, but he meant it more specifically; if he were on his deathbed, having Saffron in the room would have eased his mind. If her father wasn't comforted by her attention than he was a fool who had never valued her appropriately. "But try not to wear yourself down too much."

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