Quiet and imaginative, Derek O'Reilly spends a lot of time watching a movie in his head. His fiancé Nathan wonders why Derek hasn't taken any interest in their wedding planning, and Aunt Fran -- his spiritual guru -- would like to know when her guilt-tripping nephew became a kept boy. When she drops Derek's childhood journal on his lap, he's forced to remember the name he's been trying to forget since he was twelve years old. Nicolai Lund. Nick was Derek's neighbor ... and first love. Weeks before Derek's engagement party, a chance meeting with Nick catapults Derek into the past. But Nick isn't that seventeen-year-old rebel anymore. He's a man hardened by invisible scars. A man struggling with grief. As Derek reads through his childhood diary, he realizes what Nick was to him, still is today, and yet might be ... NOTE: This edition has been expanded and substantially edited.

Split

I never knew Nick was so messy. Even his bed was undone. There was a bag of chips on his pillow. He’s going to need a maid when he’s older.


Of all the things I saw in his bedroom, one thing stuck out the most: on his bed stand, right beside his Halloween mask, there was a large hardcover book. I walked over to take a closer look at it. It was at least six hundred pages.


If Nick is dyslexic, then I wonder how long it took him to read it? What kind of book would be worth all that time and energy?


I picked it up and read the title. Professional cooking. Learn the tricks of trade. From classical French cuisine to the newest trends.


A recipe book? Why is Nick reading this? It can’t be for school. People say that he’s flunking every class and won’t be getting his high school diploma.


Then just as I was passing out of his room, Mrs. Lund called out. “A table! Et on se grouille!”


Chapter 24