“All it takes is a few compliments and a few imaginary points, and I’m good.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. All right. Baking show. Let’s do this.”

“I’m ready.”

“Press play on the count of three?”

“One, two, three—bam.”

Chapter Eight

“Hey, Eliot.”

“Hi! You busy?”

“Nah. Just parking my bike real quick.”

“Oh, are you out somewhere?”

“No. I’m just getting back. I was visiting my dad.”

“You sound . . . sad.”

“. . . Seeing him can be really hard.”

“Why? I thought you guys had an easy relationship.”

“We do. I mean, he’s pretty much my best friend. He’s . . . the best. Like a grizzly bear. Except for with me and my brother. For us he’s a total puppy. It’s always sad to leave.”

“Does he live in the city?”

“Yeah. Up in Queens. He’s . . . sick. So he’s living in a care facility. I’m taking care of things at home for him and going to see him as much as I can.”

“Wow. God. That must be really hard. Is he—Does he—Will he—”

“Ever get better? No. It’s terminal. He’s not in a hospice facility yet. And I wanted to get an in-home nurse for him. But he sort of, um, works from home, and he didn’t want his . . . clients . . . to see him failing in health. So he’s up in Queens at an adult care facility right now.”

“Oh, JD. God. I’m so sorry.”

“Yeah.”

“Are you . . . okay? I mean, that’s probably a really dumb question to ask.”

“No, it’s nice, actually. No one really asks me that.”

“Are you?”

“Yes. No. Sometimes.”

“Oh, JD.”

“Yeah. Sorry. I’m all right. Goofing around with you has been really nice. I should probably be focusing on other stuff. But, you’re a really good distraction, Hoffman. It’s been a while since I had fun.”

“I am extremely glad to be of service. Like, over the moon, JD. Seriously. If fun is what you need right now, I will provide. I can think of like a hundred different things we—”

“Don’t hurt yourself, Hoffman.”

“Right, right. I’m going overboard, huh?”

“A tad.”

“Okay. Got it. Be cool, Eliot. Be cool. Um, okay. New topic. What did you do today?”

“I worked.”

“What’s your work again?”

“You think you’re soooooo slick, don’t you?”

“Dang, thought I could sneak that one past you.”

“I will not be telling you my job.”

“Because your job is a dead giveaway?”

“Because my job is a dead giveaway.”

“Interesting. Interesting. I’m filing away this information for future use. Hey. I’ve been thinking.”

“Sounds risky.”

“Do you want to meet my sister?”

“I . . . what?”

“Or talk to her on the phone? Or email with her or something?”

“I mean, she sounds cool from how you’ve described her, but . . . what are we talking about right now?”