Good thing, too, because Mike and I were running out of things to talk about. ‘Hey, fellas,’ he said, slapping us both on the back. I almost chipped my tooth on the beer mug. ‘Hey,’ I said back without much enthusiasm. ‘Where are the girls?’ Mike asked. ‘Ah, hell, with Crystal along they may never come back. I just gave her the credit card and came here.’ ‘Vern, there are a lot of diamond shops here—’ Mike started. ‘Yeah, she does like her a diamond, don’t she?’ He shook his head and ordered a draft from the bartender. ‘That’s OK. I gave her a card with a $10,000 limit. She can’t hurt me too bad.’ ‘I take it Crystal’s not the boys’ mom,’ I said. Vern laughed. ‘Jesus, God, no! Their mama’s my first wife, Lois. She’s back in Houston waiting on her boys to come home. She’s got custody of ’em, and I didn’t fight that. Children belong with their mother, unless she’s unfit or something, and God knows Lois is a good mama. ’Sides, me and Crystal need some time to get to know each other.’ ‘I take it y’all are newlyweds,’ I said.
