The British Solution to All Problems

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I'm watching an adaptation of a P. D. James novel for the telly. A woman comes over to the apartment of her ex to tell him she is pregnant, and is going to have the baby. But she expects nothing from him. That, he tells her, is exactly what she will get: he can contribute nothing, "writing is more important to me." She gets up to go. But then he makes a move to ameliorate leaving her in the lurch, a single mom caring for a baby with no support from the guy who fostered it:

"But wait! I didn't even offer you a cup of tea! I could make you one..."

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