"We are?" He is, Billy doesn't ask, but that question is also just as obvious, and there are his ears now joining in with the pink parade. "I mean, yeah, I was looking for him. Like I said, we're friends. I like talking to him." And he just...feels comfortable, talking with Nida, or knowing he's around. That's all. "And this was Nida's idea, you know? So I didn't want to pull him out of anything else he was doing just to talk at him. I do a lot of that already." Because Nida always listens. No matter how dumb it is, he listens. That means a lot.

But this isn't about Nida. Not just about Nida, anyway, and the idea of coming over to cook for Nida--to cook for his friends, or with his friends--is a good one. Definitely worth doing. "Definitely. I'll come by one morning later this week. Wednesday maybe? Nida and I have a lesson later, so I can come show you how to make latkes and then we can go." It's just good timing, really.