”“Yeah,” she admitted. “That’s bound to be an awkward meal. Would you rather skip it or are you okay with sitting at a table with her?”I t...ought about it. “I can manage,” I said carefully. “I knew as soon as I mentioned it in front of her that she was gonna try to fit herself into the picture somehow. Now the real question: would you prefer to have the day for just the three of you and meet at the party or would you rather all of us get lunch together?”“I think we’d like to spend time with both. Itwas really weird. So then when I got to the store, as I was checkingout with my milk and eggs, I decided to get a pack of cigarettes. Iwalked outside and couldn't wait to light one up. It felt good, Laura.It felt really fucking good. What do you think that means?" I don't know, but something happened to me yesterday as you. I've beenchecking out and letting your body do it's thing more and more; it justseems easier. And yesterday, I went and signed up for a gym and startedlifting. Eric watches her go, grinning balefully."... so you see, Randy, if I put in the herbs here, in these five rows, basil—two rows of basil, because I figure once the tomatoes get ripe, you'll want to—" I'm sure it's all exactly right," he says, not so much as glancing at the chart of the garden she has prepared, the only way to know what's where, since, with the exception of the tomatoes, nothing else is visible in the garden."You're doing one helluva job."She looks into his expressionless face,. ”Once we were seated in a private dining room, I helped Ken while Cindy helped Kim with their menus. Once we had placed our orders, we settled down and began to chat.Rita and Cindy were glowing with excitement, and seemed to be a little apprehensive. Mom kept glancing at them trying to decide if something was wrong. I decided it was time for the announcement.“Kim, you and Ken will have to excuse us for a few moments, I am going to tell my folks about my engagement and I suspect things are going.