[Off tape]

[Simms stops speaking for such a long time, a prompt is needed]

What call?

[Focus]

The call from Lyla.

She’s the one person I haven’t talked to yet. I’m giving her space because I figure everyone else is not.

She says, “Hey, Jess. You have a minute to talk?”

“For you,” I say back, “always.”

“Good, I’m sitting outside your house in my car,” she replies.

[Shakes head and doesn’t stop]

Fuck me.

Fuck me.

[Stops shaking his head]

I live in LA, the woman lives in Phoenix, and she’s sittin’ outside my house in her car, and she needs to talk.

Fuck me.

[Tips head back to look at the ceiling before righting it]

I know this is gonna be bad.

See, I want her for him because I love him, and he wants her and she’s good for him. And I want her for him because he got a raw, bloody deal for the first part of his life and multi-platinum albums don’t repair that damage.

A good woman repairs that damage.

Or, at least, having her makes it hurt a whole lot less.

But I love her too, and if she’s comin’ to me to ask me to get him to back down, I gotta do that for her.

I gotta do that for China.

Caught between light and dark.

No, sister, this just all seemed dark.

So, she comes in and I offer her a drink.

She wants a pop.

I get it for her, and we go out to my pool.

She’s got on this flowy skirt that I remember has a lot of red in it and a little black tee.

She flips off her flipflops, pulls up the skirt and sits her ass down beside my pool, putting her legs in.

I roll up my jeans, do the same, and, man, it is not lost on me that I’m in the same position I saw Preacher in just minutes before this epic story started off.

I wait for her to say something. I need her to guide this.

She’s staring at the pool.

And then I wish she’d keep doing it when she turns her head and looks at me.

“I’m pregnant,” she says.

It feels like my heart explodes.

Then she goes on in a whisper.

“And I don’t know how to tell Preacher.”

Jesse

McCade:

I still had that pad, up the PCH from Timmy, but I was packin’ up because we were heading out soon to go to Louisiana. [charmingly pronounces “Louisiana” as “Looseeana”]

Jess calls, says he wants to come over.

I don’t got a lot of shit, but packin’s not fun, so I’m down with him rollin’ up so we can throw some back. Maybe go out and get some nachos.

[Blows breath out his nose, drinks some bourbon]