" Sorry, Dad, no dice. I've got to work." Anthony plopped down in front of the TV as Nick's other son, Joey, came through the front door. "Hey, Joey,"...Anthony called out. "Dad struck out with some woman again. You busy Saturday night?" Uh, no," Joey said. "Why?" To go out with Dad," Anthony explained patiently."Oh. Uh, I'm busy." But Joey," Nick broke in. "You just said you were free!" Uh -- something came up?" But..."Not waiting for the rest, Joey ducked into the kitchen.Just then Nick's. . Hal Long, the Broncos kicker this season, Zack and Sam Hayes, Jake Kring and...”“Kring?” Dylan asked. “Never heard of him.”“Jake is QB3 for the Chiefs,” I answered. “He played college ball for Syracuse. The eighth guy is the guy I came in with tonight.”“The Bengals cornerback?” Marcus said. “I thought he was from Texas.”“Mike is,” I agreed. “He played high school football in Paradise for three seasons. His dad works for the New Holland farm equipment manufacturer. The family moved up north. Jacob went ahead to retrieve the car and pick us all up at the curb out front. The boys hung on Jake and laughed with him as he played. He really does love his boys. For a moment I was in the zone where only he and I exist. It was only for a moment. Mrs. Bodiford, I am looking forward to staying with yall. I do love our southern accent. It is so civilized and refined. Yankees have no idea. They have their own charms, dont get me wrong. But to hear a southern accent and think the speaker is. He finished his salad as the last customers left. It wasn’t until then that he actually relaxed.Jenny joined him at the table with a sad shake of her head. She said, “Stiffed on another bill.”“I noticed you taking a check for the meal,” replied Jerry.“Yeah. It’ll bounce. They always do when I have to take a check after two credit cards get rejected.” She shook her head and added, “It amazes me at how righteous they are when it happens. They act like I’m supposed to be happy about buying them.