Ellen chuckles, shuffling over to the garbage to dump the broken glass. Neal beats her to the kitchen area for a damp rag to wipe up what’s left of the alcohol and catch any last shards. She lets him win, holding the now-empty dustpan up in surrender.

“She seems like quite a character, from what little I know.”

Neal smiles a little, thinking of his last conversation with Jessica Whitly. “She probably hasn’t forgiven me for hanging up on her the last time we talked.”

Ellen tsks without real disapproval as she puts the cleaning implements away. She flashes Malcolm a smile. “You’re perfect for this one, you know. For a lot of reasons, from what I can tell, but he likes a clean space. He was fastidious even as a little boy.”