tic tac teeth; part 2

A lock of chestnut colored hair falls into his eyes as he shakes his head. He lifts an arm, and puts a finger on the little girl’s face. “That was Layla, and that was her mother, Isabelle.” His finger leaves the photograph, and moves to another frame. There is an old man, Layla, and Isabelle. They are all seated on a long couch, and even though it looks comfortable enough, they are all seated on the edge of the seat, as though they can’t wait to get off. Layla is smiling, and her hair is longer in this picture. Isabelle though, looks distressed, and when the picture was taken, she was caught glancing sideways at the man. The man doesn’t seem to notice and is smiling. A gold tooth glints at the edge of his mouth. “That’s Arnold, Isabelle’s husband.” His finger slides down the glass surface of the photo, until it drops off at the edge of the frame. He turns back to me, and his eyes glisten with unshed tears. “Isabelle was such a sweet woman…Arnold didn’t deserve her. My only wish is that they hadn’t dragged Layla into that mess with them.” He suddenly looks very weak, as though he could topple over at any moment. I gently place my hand on his shoulder, steadying him. “Thank you.” He says. He leans against the wall and sighs deeply.
“I’m sorry; I shouldn’t be troubling you with my problems.” He straightens, puts on a bright smile, and offers me his hand. “My name is Simon, Simon Keen.” I shake his hand.
“Nice to meet you, my name is Charlotte Gumby.” His hand tightens on my fingers so briefly that I wonder if it even happened. He drops my hand, and I let it fall at my side.
“Ah, another Gumby,” He says. “Do you happen to be related to Gunther Gumby?” His eyes have a faraway look, like he’s not really listening for the answer. I can tell he is just stalling, trying to keep me here while he thinks something over. I smile; I’ve used this trick a countless many times before.
“I don’t think this is what you really want to talk about.” I say, and watch with satisfaction as his eyes flit back to me with surprise.
“It seems you have thought right, Charlotte.” He says with a smile.