Over dinner that night, Tab finally asked. Information was needed from an impartial source, which by definition meant not Maxi, and the only one who knew Nick was…
“Uncle Eddie, is Nick shy?”
Eddie looked up from his stew. “Nick…?”
Aunt JuliKate huffed. “Honestly, Eddie, the boy Andy likes.”
Tab flushed. “Jones,” he added. “In your classes.”
“Oh, your Nick,” Eddie said, and grunted. “Yeah he is.”
Tab blinked. Really? Eddie knew that? Uncle Eddie was hardly observant. Or, you know, emotionally aware. “…Really?”
Eddie swallowed his mouthful with a wrenching noise. “Kid’s a damn good fighter and gets a lot of respect in the group for it, but he’s about as socially skilled as your grandmother. Wouldn’t know what to say to a person if you give him a goddamn script. I had to bully him int
