“No, bean brain, I’ve got a teacher lined up—well, at least almost lined up. He’s going to give me lessons.”

“Italian lessons?”

“No, Chinese lessons.”

“Very funny,” said Jimmy.“So, who is this teacher, and what do you mean he’s ‘almost lined up’?”

“He’s a music professor over at RIC,” Carter explained.

“I thought you wanted to learn Italian.”

“He’s from Italy,” said Carter, impatiently. “He gives private Italian lessons to people in the summer . . . sometimes.”

“What do you mean ‘sometimes’?”

“Well, I’ve only met him once, but he’s kind of a pain,” said Carter. “I guess he’s kind of particular about who he teaches, because when I asked him to give me lessons, he said he’d have to think about it.”

“What’s to think about?” said Jimmy. “What is he? Some old geezer?”

“Nah,” said Carter with a shake of his head. “I’d say he’s late forties, maybe early fifties.”

“That’s old in my book,” opined Jimmy before downing a gulp of his beer.

“Honestly, I don’t care if he’s as old as the hills,” said Carter. “Somebody at the school told me he’s the best Italian teacher around, so that’s good enough for me.”

“And what happens if this guy doesn’t come through for you?” said Jimmy. “Then what are you gonna do?”

“I haven’t gotten there yet,” Carter admitted with a shrug. “I’ll worry about that when I do. For now I’ll just wait.”

“And do what?”

“Get in shape,” Carter reminded him. “The fall rugby season’s coming, remember?”

“Of course, how could I forget?” said Jimmy, rolling his eyes.

“You should come out and give it a try,” said Carter. “You work out enough.Why not put it to good use? Don’t give me that look.”

“Carter, please, let me explain something to you,” said Jimmy, still giving him that look. “I happen to like my face just the way it is. See this nose? I don’t want it bent sideways. And I don’t want my ears to look like two hunks of cauliflower. I work out for one reason and one reason only.”

“And that would be?”

“The beach,” he replied.

“Oh, right,” Carter kidded him. “I forgot, the chicks just fall all over you when you show up on the sand and take your shirt off.”

“Hey, you’d be surprised,” said Jimmy, flexing both arms. “I have to stay strong to be able to swat them away. Speaking of which . . .”