“I doubt it,” he said. “Given my own cursed state, keep in mind that I’m in no place to judge.”

Charlotte’s brow wrinkled, as if she was trying to apologize for the words coming out of her mouth. “I tried moving back home after I graduated and working with my mother. But it didn’t work out.”

That was her big secret? Being unable to work with her mom? Leonard shook his head. “Well, yeah, working with family can be a nightmare. I worked at my dad’s garage every summer from sixth grade to high school graduation. I don’t think we had a civil dinner conversation in the summertime until I got my first lab job. You spend all day together and then you go home together. Little resentments build up, things you were supposed to do and didn’t, things you wish they wouldn’t do and they never seem to stop.”

“Yes, exactly that,” she gasped, clutching his arm as if he was some sort of lifeline of understanding. Leonard tried not to sigh from the warm sensation winding out from his arm to his chest, just under his heart. Surely, sighing in the middle of a conversation, like you’d just slid into a hot bath, would be rude and off-putting.

“Don’t get me wrong,” Charlotte said. “My parents are amazing people. They’re kind and supportive and they love me so much. So even when I moved into my own place, the phone was just ringing all of the time and anything became an excuse for me to come over to their place. By the time we were about a year into a practice together, I realized I needed some space. The League offered me a job and while I frequently call and video chat with my parents every Saturday, I try to limit my visits to Christmas.”

His eyes narrowed as he stared at her. She grimaced. “I knew that was going to sound bad.”

He laughed. “No, I’m just trying to figure out how you get away with it. Do you have any idea how awful holidays can be when your entire family gets more and more clumsy the more stressed out they are? We’ve never gotten a turkey all the way to the table. Never.”

“I would imagine it’s pretty bad,” she said, nodding. “But yesterday, during that really weird meeting, you managed to run across the street without any problems, while carrying a bunch of pies. It was practically a Three Stooges set-up and…nothing.”

He scoffed. “Well, yeah, but I wasn’t nervous then. It wasn’t my screw up. It was Jessica’s. I was just trying to fix it and help Sonja and Jillian. I love helping Sonja and Jillian. I don’t get stressed out doing what I love.”