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I didn’t understand what he meant, but he seeht That’s good”

“Fingers crossed”

I set esture “I don’t mean to be nosy, but do you mind if I ask what happened to your shoulder?”

He wiped his palot sandwiched between a three-hundred-pound brick wall of a linebacker and a tight end before hitting the turf hard enough to knock the wind out of e…for all the wrong reasons”

My brow creased as I tried towhat a linebacker was, I was lost I made a mental note to look it up and settled on, “I’m sorry you were hurt”

“Me too I walked aith a uys sit out the reame, then wrap up their wounds and show up to practice ready to play It doesn’t work like that for refs I er ones, but I’m forty, and I don’t rebound quite as fast as I used to That’s okay I have the rest of November off to heal and spend tirandparents for Thanksgiving”

“So you’ll be healed in two and a half weeks?”

“Hopefully It’s just a sprain, and it’s not ive it soru toward the muted TV on the other end of the room

“Because of the holidays?”

“No” He gave a dis and Christ deal to me It’s football season and—”

“Not a big deal?” I gasped in horror “How can you say that? The holidays are…everything!”

“Everything?”

“Yes Everything” I smacked my palm on the island as if to eoodwill to all Christ to office parties, buying gifts for friends and fa”

“You like Christently

“Like it? I love it I love Hanukkah too, and I’m not even Jewish I love all holidays…except Halloween If the decorations and celebrations are sweet and harned to scare the devil out of me, Halloween is fine Otherwise, I can buy my own candy, thank you very much”

“Noted” Mr McSwoony chuckled as he picked up hiswhen he took another sip “Meh I don’t think I like tea”

If possible, my eyes widened even more “You don’t like tea?”

“I never drink it Maybe it needs sugar or—why are you looking at me like that?”

“Like what?”