“That may be true, Nikolai. But as far as we can tell, he likes you more than he likes anybody else. He just . . . so far, he may not have the same capacity for friendship that you have. I hope that my asking you these questions won’t change your feelings and actions toward Bean. We don’t assign people to be friends, but I hope you’ll remain Bean’s.” “I’m not his friend,” said Nikolai. “Oh?” “I told you. I’m his brother.” Nikolai grinned. “Once you get a brother, you don’t give him up easy.”
