He says: “Dad, can I talk to you?”

And we go over to couch where he tells me he thinks he maybe has a crush again on S.

He asks: “How do you ask her out?”

“Have you ever talked with her?” I say.

He says: “She’s always protected by her friends.”

“Protected?”

“You know, like they’re always around her and you can’t just go up to her.”

“Oh. Is there ever a time when you might be able to talk to her without them so near?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. What do I ask her?”

“Maybe about a book. Girls like guys who like books.”

“You’re just saying that cuz…”

“I like books? Sure. But you’re reading the same book in class, right?”

“Yeah.”

“See how she likes it? It’s just a start.”

“I don’t know,” he says. But the next day, he comes back all “it didn’t work what you said.”

“Well, when you asked, what did she say?”

“She was like, I don’t know, it’s okay.”

“That’s perfect,” I say. “It matters what she says, but it matters more that you asked.”

And he goes back to his computer game, but I can see in his little smile, he knows this is true: Asking is good.