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“You’ll come into yours,” Bob said, patting him on the shoulder. “He’s going through a lot right now. More than you could possibly know.”

“Why won’t he just tell me?” Nick asked, suddenly exhausted. “I’m his best friend. He can tell me anything. It’s how we’ve always been.”

“Can he?” Bob asked. “Maybe he needs to hear that from you.”

Oof. That was pointed, but fair. “I try to be a good friend. But sometimes, other stuff comes up. I get stuck in my own head and forget what I should be doing instead of what I want to be doing.”

“That’s how life goes. Things happen. It’s difficult. Sometimes, people drift apart. They get set upon different paths. Doesn’t mean they care about each other any less.”

Nick stared at him in horror. “That’s not going to happen. I’m going to be with Seth forever.”

Bob’s lips twitched. “How… expected. And if he said the same to you?”

Nick blushed furiously. “I. Um. That would be. Neat?”

“Oh, so I guess the fact that he’s in love with you would—”

“Robert Gray!” Martha said furiously, coming out of the kitchen, a dish towel in her hands. “You close those flapping lips of yoursright this second.”

Bob scowled at her. “Someone needs to say it. Aren’t you tired of all the pining? You’re lucky I didn’t tell him about how Seth is—”

She slapped the dish towel over his mouth while glaring up at him.

He waggled his eyebrows at her.

They looked at Nick.

Nick, who was in the middle of a full system shutdown.

“Oh dear,” Martha said as she pulled the dish towel away. “I think you’ve broken him.”

Bob poked Nick on the cheek. “Imagine how he’d react if I told him the other thing.”

“Robert Gray.”

His eyes were twinkling when he said, “Probably a good idea just to keep it at one thing at a time.”

“Why, you old rascal. You’re gonna get it, I promise.”

“I should hope so,” Bob said, kissing her cheek.

Three minutes later, Nick found himself standing on the porch of the Gray brownstone, a plate of cookies in his hand, the door closing behind him after Martha told him to come back as soon as he could.

It took him at least ten more minutes before he was able to somehow make his legs work again.

He didn’t remember much about the walk home.