I wanted to get him to talk, but I got the distinct impression that pushing him to open up wouldn’t work. As hard as it was, I left him to sort it out on his own and come to me if he decided he wanted to talk, focusing my efforts on the kids, instead. He disappeared into his bedroom for a little while, shaking his head at me when I made to follow him. Elin came with me into the kitchen after I got the boys settled in the living room. They were playing a video game that Tuck had let them borrow. “Can I help make dinner?” she asked. I thought that was a great idea. “Have you ever put together a salad before?” She nodded and headed for the fridge to get what she needed while I worked on making burger patties. Burgers, oven fries, and a salad seemed like it should work out as a decent compromise for everyone. It would be kid friendly enough to keep Nils happy but relatively healthy and balanced enough for Nicky. He’d been away from the team for almost a week now, but the leave they’d granted him wouldn’t last forever.
