The One That Got Away.

Marshmallow Martin-Leto

"Her full name is Marshmallow Martian Martin-Leto, but she never tells anyone her middle name so don't repeat it." 

"Martin-Leto."

"Yes."

"Oh my God, admit it! You're her dad."

"I'm not."

"Who's her mom? Is it..." Kelly can't reconcile which ex is old enough to be a 19-year-old's mother. 

"Her mom passed away years ago." 

"Oh." After a few moments of silence, "So, who's her dad?"

"Look -"

"Why is it a big deal?!" 

"She's not my daughter." 

"Then why so mysterious?" 

"Look, I'm not at liberty to go there, ok? Marshmallow and her father don't always get along. I don't feel right talking about their private family business."

"Private family business," she parrots sarcastically. "What about her mom?"

"Her mom was the most special person I've ever had the good fortune of knowing. She was a truly magical person. Marshmallow takes after her the most. Spitting image of her, too." 

Kelly thinks she can see a tear in the corner of his eye. "You really loved her," she whispers sympathetically. She smiles at him warmly, knowingly, attempting to foster a space for him to feel safe and communicate his pent-up feelings of grief.

"Fuck off with that for the last time," he playfully throws a pillow at her. 

"Whatever. I asked Marshmallow if the house was making me hallucinate and she said no."

"That is correct, you are not hallucinating."

"Then what would you call it?"

"I don't call it anything, I simply live my life." 

She returns the pillow to him with force. 

Desperate to change the subject, he determines to show her some of the proprietary tech he's designed for the house. He surmises security must be at the top of her interest. "Check this out," he pulls out the walkie-talkie-looking device and dials in a code. Several flat-screen monitors silently descend from the ceiling. They blink on, displaying security camera feed from various parts of the house, inside and out. Jared accidentally selects the waterfall camera as Constance is making her way around the house to the entrance. "Now, see, I created this whole system. It's proprietary. And, you can watch everything going on from anywhere in this house. And! The really neat part is that you can -"

"Wait! Keep it there! What is she doing...? How did she...?" Her eyes are significantly fixed on Constance as she walks directly up to the waterfall and flicks her hand as if the thing is nothing but a showy nuisance. It parts for her without hesitation. "What. The. Fuck." Anger rises in Kelly from the bottom up. Worse, the front doors just open for Constance as if especially in her honor. 

She turns to Jared who already has his eyes closed as if he completely forgot his mom was going to blow his cover. "That's... er, it's not what you think." He stops and starts several times before he finally concludes, "She has control over the house, put it that way. Uh, emotional control, let's say."

"Fucking speak my language, Jared!"

"Kelly, there are some things you have to figure out on your own -"

"Excuse me? What does that -"

"What I'm saying is if -

"Say it!"