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"And… your mom?" He looked as if he shouldn’t have asked

I took another deep breath and held it in s for a few seconds

"My mo a grocery cart through a parking lot when an elderly lady backed out of a parking space too fast and hit her The impact shattered my mom’s hip and severed her femoral artery Doctors couldn’t save her" I kept a careful hold on theabout ain

Ryan stepped over to where I sat in the boat and gently rubbed ine how hard that o on, you know? You don’t really knoin his eyes

Ryan let his ar

I felt the line on ot one!" I started to reel in rabbed the net and leaned over the side to see what I caught

"Nice!" he said enthusiastically, netting the big ot to be about ten inches!" Ryan had to get the fish unhooked for me "Good job!" He beamed

I made a fish face at the poor fish before he released it back into the lake "See ya Mr Bass"

"So tell me more about you," Ryan started

"What do you want to know?"

"Everything!" he stated ee of questions, and I foundhim my life’s story Some of his questions prompted questions ofI wanted to know either

"Actually, I was born in upstate New York," I told hirew up near Watkins Glen Have you ever heard of it?"

"Sure," he replied "I’ve even been there once My dad took us there to see a race"

I smiled "Our house was only fourdid you live there?"