It was my first Christmas with Nick, and my parents had invited me to their house for dinner. Since Nick wasn't spending it with his family, I asked him to come with me, along with his 5-year-old son Ted. He was older than me, I was 23 and he was 34, but we got along well, and I got along really well with his son. He agreed, a little anxious about meeting all my relatives at once, but he was a pretty confident man, so he was only anxious up to a point. So we were at the table, Ted was playing with a little cousin of mine, while my family was getting ready to eat.