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[She raises her eyebrows mockingly in return. She'll eat quite a bit of it on her own, and the rest will go home to be finished off later as leftovers. Ariadne plans ahead.] So, do you see him often? Your dad. I mean, Germany's... [She trails off, waves a hand. Germany is what? She'd been thinking 'not that far', but not that far from where? From Paris. But of course Arthur didn't actually live in Paris, he was just here for... well. Ariadne isn't quite sure why he's here.]

[It's not because he loves the city, though he does. Arthur takes a sip of wine.] Once a year, maybe.

[Maybe not the greatest relationship, then. She's not surprised, though she can't really imagine being that way - she's never gone more than eight months without seeing her parents, and the one time she had gone that long, she'd called them constantly.] Some family members are better in small doses, maybe. I have an aunt like that. Do you think she cares about school, what I'm actually doing with my life? Nope, she just wants to know how close I am to marrying a nice boy and making babies.

[That earns a laugh from Arthur.] Different people, different priorities. [He doesn't, however, agree or disagree, as to whether his father fits in that category.]

Not everyone always gets it. [She tilts her head at him a little.] Did he not like it when you left the CIA?

[How had they gone this long without talking about his family? Without her knowing his mother was dead?

Arthur had become so tight-lipped that he didn't realize anymore when his silence on a subject wasn't normal. Because it was normal for him. He could count on two fingers the number of women who knew even the generalities of his family. Had been three fingers, once. And men, maybe a whole hand. Maybe.]

I don't think 'like' or 'dislike' really factored in. My father was proud that I was working for the American Government. That I'd been sought after. That earned his respect.

When I left... I did eveything in my power to make it look like it wasn't my choice, but. I don't think it mattered to him. It was something we had in common that was lost.

[She's glad that he's willing to share this with her. She knows he doesn't exactly talk about himself much.] So he can't, or doesn't, respect you as much because of it. Why exactly did you leave? [He'd said once, Cobb, but that was a half-answer. Cobb might've helped him make the decision, but if he'd really liked what he did, no one would've been able to pull him away from it.]

I don't think it's intentional on his part, but... no. If only because he doesn't understand anything else. He's been in the Army since leaving high school.

I left because I loved the dream technology. Cobb showed me applications that the CIA would have never allowed.

He doesn't get that what he loves might not be what you love. [She smiles, though.] You know that's one of the things I like best about you. You don't exactly seem like the kind of guy who just enjoys playing around in dreams.

What does your dad think you've been doing all this time?

And yet the technology seduced me out of a good, respectable job. [He gives a quiet, dry laugh.] I like the applications.

He thinks an accident with somnacin left me with a nice government stipend. And that I supplement my income with private consulting jobs. Economics. That was my major at MIT.

Mm, the highly-illegal applications. [She grins, then.]

Ah, right. Consulting. That's, like, the go-to cover story for high-class criminals, isn't it. So you're like a freeloader, running around the world not doing much. Sleeping a lot. [It's a tease, because imagining Arthur being idle for any length of time is like imagining a polar bear in a rainforest.]

I like the applications. You can thank Cobb for twisting them. [And he grins back.]

I could consult. I just don't need the money and don't have the time. Economics still interests me.

I know you could. But... The dreaming is way better. [Idly, she pulls a pencil out of her bag and starts doodling on a paper napkin. Mazes.] Do you have any pictures of them? Your parents.

[There's a hesitation, and then Arthur shakes his head.] Not that I carry on me, anyway. [He watches the strokes of her pencil.] Too dangerous.

Makes sense. [She says it with a nod.] I'd like to see one sometime, though. [She won't suggest actually meeting his father - not yet, at least. That would probably sound too much like a committment, too much like she's assuming a long-term place in his life.

She'd like to, but it's only possible if Arthur decides to let it happen.

The maze takes shape, and she offers it to him wordlessly just as their food arrives.]

[Arthur isn't sure that he'd bring a long-term girl home to his father. His father... doesn't have a place in his real life.] All right.

[But he is there, and not to be ignored. Ariadne nods at the maze and pushes the pencil towards him invitingly.] I almost got married, once. [It's almost like a confession - well, he'd been generous enough to offer up a bunch of personal information, now it's her turn. He already knows the basics about her parents.]

[Arthur reaches for the maze, but is a bit side-swiped by Ariadne's bit of dropped information and so it, and the food, get ignored for the moment.] Oh?

[That does seem to surprise him a little. She actually almost smiles, because it's tough to take him off-guard.] Yeah. I dated this guy as an undergrad, for almost two years. He wanted to marry me. Gave me a ring, even.

Gave you a ring. Did you take it?

Yes, for about a week. But we spent the whole time arguing about whether to do it before or after my grad work. And I realized... he wanted to get married before, thinking I would decide not to go to Paris. Thinking I would decide to be his wife, and live in St Louis, and have his kids. Give up what I really wanted. [She makes a face at the thought of suburban bliss.]

[It shouldn't amuse Arthur, but it does. Her tone. The face.] You make it sound like it would have been a horrible thing. The picket fence, I mean.

Well, it's not what I want. [She shrugs a little, poking at her food.] Different people, different priorities. I'm not against marriage. I would've married him. I don't really think I want kids, though. It would never have worked.

I know. I just meant-- [Arthur shakes his head and looks at her maze. A single glance shows him how complicated it is, no clear way from point A to point B.] You made it sound repugnant.

But it's good you figured that out before you got married--that's a big difference in opinion, kids or no kids.

It would've been. [She laughs a little.] Can you imagine me, trying to play housewife? Pregnant and barefoot? Burning grilled cheese?

I had myself convinced I'd want kids eventually, but then he gave me the ring and... I realized that's stupid. I've never wanted that, I don't think that'll change.