"Mum makes biscuits at Christmas," Higgs offered when Gladys asked if Cassia made cakes. It wasn't quite the same, but Higgs honestly didn't think he'd ever seen his mum even attempt a cake. She did do some damn good biscuits. Usually, though, Cassia was too busy with work and didn't seem to enjoy cooking in general all that much, which was why usually Higgs' dad cooked. "But a cake before my birthday sounds excellent," Higgs confirmed with a nod. "Especially since my birthday's just been," he added with a grin. Waiting until August next year for a cake was a rather long time, Higgs would much prefer cakes before then. "I'll eat Gemma's slices, too," he said teasingly. There was a lot of joy in Higgs' life that came from teasing his sister.
Higgs knew that Gladys had a lot of experience with relationships, she had, after all, had a lot of time to gather such experiences. He daren't to imagine what losing one's partner must have felt like, and realistically, Higgs also knew that Gladys' divorce had been dissimilar to his own situation. But she was right, of course, in that it was sad and awkward. Then again, she was also right in saying that life threw up unexpected things. "I just want her to be happy," he admitted softly. It was more than Higgs had given anyone else who asked. He'd told people about his own head-space right now, but the discussion of why he'd asked Alicia for a divorce... well, it wasn't quite the kind of conversation Higgs wanted to have. But talking to his nan about it seemed somehow easier. "And I honestly don't think I can offer that to her," he added with a shake of his head.