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I haven’t had to worry about these things in a long, long time

And certainly never before with Jimmy

I lift an arm and take a sniff of ood I check my breath Not so fresh I decide to brush h I haven’t eaten dinner yet I take a co with it

I take ht than I did for my date with Malcolm Tucci

When I’ at h my nostrils, then slowly out my parted lips

My heart’s racing so fast, I feel like I could pass out

What’s the big deal? Just be yourself, and relax

I letaithabout the pros and cons of running a ranch the size of the Strong’s When I co rooazes at ht of me has taken him somewhere

Lord knohy I’m just my same old self “Hey, Jimmy”

My greeting breaks him from his trance His words come out in half a croak: “Hey there, Bobs”

My s dinner to the table, but stops for a second at the exit to the kitchen, her eyes observing the pair of us Then, with a coy little smile on her face, she slaps down a potholder, then sets a casserole on top of it Jiht to serving hi, “Good Lord, ma’am, Patricia, this smells heavenly!” And my ma is too quick to mutter, “Just Patricia You know better than to ma’am me!”

I find I barely have an appetite, ith all the excitehbefore calling it quits The whole dinner’s conversation is occupied with Ji pleasantries about farm life, interrupted just for a moment by ives Ji like one big, happy family, just like we used to do back in the day

And after es me and says, “Tell that to this one He was almost married to the chef’s son at Nadine’s, thanks to my mama”

I snort halfway through a sip of my water “I wasn’t married to anyone, thank you very uy I likely won’t be seein’ again”