From then on, any little thing Jack did made me crazy. I once heard someone say that the things that make you fall in love with someone are what make you hate them later in the relationship. For instance, I’d always thought it was cute when he left his underwear on the bathroom floor—I’d move it to the hamper and smile warmly to myself. That got really old after a while. Another initially endearing trait was that Jack never had any cash. Whenever we’d get in the car, he would grasp the steering wheel, exhale loudly, then announce, “I’ve got no money and no gas.” I didn’t know why he was so shocked, because he took out only twenty dollars at a time from the ATM. So, before we went anywhere, we’d have to go to the bank, then to the 7-Eleven to buy two packs of smokes for him, and finally over to the gas station to put four bucks’ worth of gas in the car. This left him with six dollars, and I’d cover whatever expenses we’d have for the rest of the day. Whenever I suggested he withdraw forty bucks on the weekend or think about filling his tank all the way up, he’d just glare at me.

I knew things were winding down when we spent New Year’s Eve going to the Union 76 station by our apartment and filling up the tank completely. Jack had found an old Union 76 card that his dad had given him years earlier. It was due to expire on New Year’s Day, so we had one last chance to use it. After that, I kind of checked out of the relationship and, after a couple of months, I moved out.

“So, how’s Jack?” I felt compelled to ask, even though I couldn’t have cared less.

Janey hesitated. “He’s good. You know, he and Melissa have two kids now.”

I’d known he’d gotten married and had a little boy. He was kind of like a kid himself, so I bet he was a good dad. “Does he have a job?” I asked.

“Kind of . . . ,” she said. “He’s writing too, and they just bought a house in Tarzana.”

I didn’t ask what he was writing or what the kids’ names were. I didn’t care.

I’d always liked Jack’s sister Janey, but she was the really fucked-up one in the family; lots of daddy issues. As we talked at Peet’s that afternoon, she acted sweet and glad to hear I was writing on Flesh and Bone. She had started her own dog walking business, which she described as “very lucrative.” It paid for her acting classes and I guess walking dogs paid for the coffee, too.