“Vince, sweetheart…” Cassandra began gently, her voice soft but laced with concern as she wiped flour from her hands and moved closer to where her son sat sulking at the kitchen island. “I know you and Mark are very close—you’ve been best friends for years. But as you both get older, your interests won’t always line up the way they used to.”
She paused, searching Vince’s face for understanding. He didn’t meet her eyes.
“Mark just turned sixteen, and you will too, in a few months. Boys your age… they start becoming interested in girls. It’s normal. They want to go out, have girlfriends, and spend more time with them than with their friends. Mark’s just being a typical teenage boy, that’s all.”
Cassandra shook her head softly, her brow creased with a mixture of worry and maternal love. “I
