I mumble. My mind feels distracted, like it’s somewhere else entirely. “Hey, Rem! Pull up a seat.” He says the words way too cheerfully. I throw my jacket over an old wooden chair across from him. And right before I take a seat, I steal a quick glance around the little bar, checkin’ to see who’s here. “Thanks for meetin’ me here,” I say. “No problem. So, what’s up?” I lean into the table. There’s no one in the bar except Old Man Seeger, who can’t even hear, but I don’t take any chances. “Well, you know how we joked about her writing a book one day?” Jack’s quiet for a second. Then he cocks his head to one side. “Uh, yeah?” “Well...” I draw out the word. He doesn’t move. He just narrows an eye at me. “Wait, what are you sayin’?” I can feel a long, drawn-out breath drag across my lips, as he stares back at me.
