He could have talked about relationships, finding the right people to cling to. But did he want to, here?

“What sort of thing would you put up on the wall of a house you owned?” Gilpatrick asked. What would he ballpark that at? Thirty percent of a ‘none of your business, creep’?

“I dunno,” the teenager said. “Pictures of myself? Friends?”

First hurdle passed.

“I can’t advise pictures of yourself. Gives off the wrong vibe if you invite people over. Classic bachelor mistake.”

It wasn’t really a classic mistake, but it was one he’d known people to make. What was this statement? Too critical? Eighty percent chance he was in the clear? Ten percent he scared the teenager off by being too critical? Ten percent chance he scared the teen by being too familiar, making it abundantly clear this wasn’t a first conversation?

“Wrong vibe how?”

Could he read the tone? Was that defensive? If he stated it outright, would he offend the teenager? If he stated it outright, would he lay groundwork that made the rest of this conversation less fragile?

“Too full of yourself, maybe. You want stuff that suggests you have hobbies, friends, that invites conversation.”

What was the chance that criticism he’d started with scared the guy off? Or that the teenager was aware enough of things to hear what Gilpatrick really wanted to say? On the flip side, there was the chance—

“Like boats,” the teenager said. “I overheard.”

“Yeah,” Gilpatrick said. He smiled. “Like boats.”

“Maybe,” the teenager said. Seeming to accept things. “What if you’re around people who need you to be full of yourself?”

“I have a cousin who’s a music producer,” Gilpatrick said. “It’s like that for him. His face is his brand and he has to constantly, always sell that brand.”

“Yeah.”

“It’s exhausting.”

“I like it,” the kid said. His eyes betrayed a deep sadness at the same time his posture suggested bravado, like he was rising to a challenge that had been set before him.

Gilpatrick was reminded of how Merindah had broken into tears the other night, hugging him. It hadn’t taken much.

“He keeps the self-promotion mostly to his office. If he needs to cater to people or if he throws a party, he’ll rent a house and decorate it for the event. Promotes artists while he’s doing it. It’s good for networking. His home is a proper home, you wouldn’t imagine it was him, if you saw it anywhere else.”

“Sounds expensive,” the teenager said.

“It is. But he does pretty well. He thinks it’s worth having that divide between work and his everyday life, especially when his work takes up seventy percent of his waking hours.”

“I work from home,” the teenager said. “I don’t get that option.”