Written as a thank-you to brightknightie for a creating and administering FK Fic Fest 2010 (released 30 May). Word count: 794 words. Written to the prompt: "Charles DuChamps and Nick, 1952. So often, we come in at the tragic end of Nick's friendships. I would love to read an incident from the beginning or middle of one of them. (It could be a flashback inside another scenario, or it could be the whole piece.)."