“Yes, ma’am?” Eric didn’t know how loud he should be, as he couldn’t see Fiona from where he was sitting, and he didn’t want to upset Vanessa who he still figured could rip his throat out if given a reason.
“Is he nervous, Scott? He sounds nervous.”
Scott addressed Eric loud enough for Fiona to hear. “Are you nervous, Eric?”
“…not really.” It was not persuasive.
“He’s good. Release the princess!” Scotty yanked the handle forward on the recliner and shot out to a standing position that wavered just a touch. “C’mon Vanessa let’s see the second prettiest girl in the family.” As Scotty veered to the bottom of the stairs, Vanessa jumped down to follow. That left Eric, who stood up and got his toothpick out.
“Here we go. Be the man.” Shooting off an internal pep talk he placed it in the cor
