Taking the bowl of cut up onion from Ashleigh, Higgs presented her with a pepper that she could cut up next. His own efforts were mostly concentrated on slicing up chicken into small chunks, easy to cook for the curry he intended to make. "Have to be of some use," he teased her when Ashleigh told him he was a good sounding board. Higgs wasn't very good at giving advice, mostly because he never thought he would know better than the person who whatever the problem was was concerning, but he didn't object to discussing it. As long as Higgs didn't presume to know better, he didn't think it was counterproductive. "I don't think things like this just go away on their own," he told her. At least that was partially based on his own experiences, even if food consumption or lack thereof had never really been on his list of personal troubles.
"Really? And here I was, thinking you were excellent at false nicety," he said with a small laugh. One of the things that Higgs enjoyed about Ashleigh was the fact that she really did seem incapable of lying, whether it was to make someone else feel better or otherwise. There was a certain level of honesty that he very much appreciated. "I'm sure we'll have enough time to find you something nice," he assured her. "What with it not being a doing holiday and all," Higgs added with a smile. Part of the appeal to the holiday had been the fact that him and Alicia could just relax and spend time together, rather than go exploring museums or whatever it was that Ashleigh would consider a holiday worth having.