Chapter 21

Friday evening, Mom thanked me for hiding the booze and winterizing the pool. Dane had a new doorknob with a lock that we’d swap out sometime that weekend. We were talking about random stuff when Mom remembered she had taken a message for me from Mrs. Denton.

“When did you take it?” I asked, practically in a panic.

“Wednesday, I think. When you were at Marion’s Bridal. I’m sorry. I completely forgot. Mrs. Denton?”

I grabbed the message, then called. I made another phone call and breathed a sigh of relief. Our Saturday morning was planned.

Dane and I were on our way in his truck when he asked, “Are you sure this is going to be well-received?” I must have responded with the appropriate look because he answered, “Of course, you’re sure. Sorry. Stupid question.”

We pulled into Martindale’s Stables and I saw Mrs. Denton’s truck pulling in about a minute behind us. I pointed ahead on the left where three horse trailers were parked together. The owner came out and the four of us inspected one of the trailers, with Mrs. Denton, the horse trailer expert taking the lead.

“It’s got what Kim will want. The floor is solid, the center divider can be removed and it’s got pretty good safety features, especially for being ten years old. I assume you’re going to pressure wash it and get it cleaned up?” she asked and I nodded.

“It’s got windows up front, too. I know Kim wanted that,” I whispered.

She turned to the owner, a crusty older fellow with a crooked mustache and a hat that he must have worn since the Depression. “The price would be good if the tires were. He’ll be lucky to get this home.”

Twenty minutes later, Dane and I were on the way back to my house with a new, old, two-horse trailer in tow. Mrs. Denton had negotiated the price down, I’d paid, and we hooked it up to Dane’s truck. I had thanked Mrs. Denton and asked how I could repay her. She said she’d seen us on the evening news and how could she refuse young love?

“Alright,” Dane said, “Tell me why.”

“Bunch of reasons. First, we’ll need one anyway and these last forever. Second, Kim wanted to go up to Myrtle Beach for a charity ride on the beach two weeks ago and couldn’t find an available trailer anywhere. She did the ride last year and loved it and hated that she missed it this year, just because she couldn’t find a trailer.”

“And you think this will fill the bill?”

“It sure should. Want to help for another half hour?”

“Why not? In for a penny, in for a pound.”

“There’s a tire and brake place on Savannah Highway.”

“Say no more.”

An hour later, the trailer was parked in the middle of our driveway and I was ready to pressure wash it. Mom came out to watch while Dane explained the virtues of having your own horse trailer. I stood in Dane’s truck bed so I could reach the top of the trailer and started hosing it down. I saw Mom shake her head, smile several times as I washed the trailer. She approved.

When I got to the inside, I realized it had hard rubber stall mats like those in the gym. I pulled those out and washed everything. When I flipped the mats over, they looked like new. Sweet! Clean, it needed a couple of things. I needed a new lock for it, a light bulb for one of the tail lights, and a little paint and some stencils. I grabbed some lunch and walked to the hardware store for supplies.

The lightbulb change was easy. A few moving parts needed a bit of extra cleaning and some oil or grease and that was easy, too. The hard part for me was painting. I decided that stencils were a wonderful invention, created especially for the artistically challenged, like me. I was pretty sure I had the correct color and set to work.

An hour later, I went back inside to ask Dane and Mom for their assessment. They followed me out and looked it over.

“I have to say, I’m impressed, Buddy. I hope it didn’t set you back too much but then I know that’s a silly thought, isn’t it?”

“Yes, ma’am. You like it?”

“I think she will.”

Dane read my artwork. “Diva, is her horse, and obviously aqua is the only color.” I had painted Diva’s name on the front left, where I thought her horse would travel. We walked to the back and he read what I’d painted in large, aqua script across the back. “K and J Ranch and Dance. I like it. Are you going to get a shingle to match? Ought to have that right on the mailbox.”

“I might run that by her first. K and J is the name of our LLC and I figured since we like to dance, we may as well say so. I think she’ll like it.”

“It looks spiffy, Buddy. You’ve done a nice job.”

“I had help. Mrs. Denton has been watching ads for a couple of weeks and obviously, I don’t have a license yet so it was nice to have some help getting it. Now, all I have to do is figure out how to hide it for the next couple of weeks.”

“We can park it by the side of the house in front of my boat. That will hide it pretty well. We can get a couple of tarps to cover it and protect its like-new appearance.”

I took a look at the location. It seemed good. “The pool is closed for the winter so we won’t have a lot of reason to go around back that way. That should work.”

After we took care of that, I went with Dane to buy a Christmas tree. On the way, I told him about Mom and Veronica coming home drunk the previous year with an enormous tree.

“I don’t know whether to laugh or cry,” he said, so he did a little of both.

The two of us managed to get a very large, but not humongous, tree set up in the rec room. Between us, we got all the ornaments and decorations down from the attic. Then, Sunday afternoon, everyone was at our house for a tree decorating party. The sounds of Perry Como and Bing Crosby set the tone, Mom made some sort of spiced drink, and the ladies went to town.

It was fun watching Kim and her mom decorate. I obviously hadn’t seen them in action last year. I went up and down the ladder hanging mistletoe all over the house. She informed me of the rule that the larger the batch of mistletoe, the longer the kiss. I didn’t know that but she insisted it was a rule. She had a lot of mistletoe. I got a lot of long kisses.

The best part of the afternoon was watching Karen and Angela decorate. Karen was happier than I’d ever seen her. She was happier than at her wedding. Franklin was just as happy. There was some talk of Christmas caroling. Kim and I announced that we would be doing community service by not subjecting the neighbors to our singing and that was the end of that.

We’d been at it for what must have been an hour, decorating, eating cookies, and listening to music, when I decided to take a break. I snuck away to the library and fell into my favorite chair. I could still hear the music but the voices were muted and I was good with that. It was a lot quieter and the light was low. I closed my eyes and relaxed. Four or five songs later, I opened my eyes and slowly realized I was not alone in the room. Angela was sitting in a small chair across the room.

I sat quietly, letting my eyes adjust to the low light. “Hi,” she said.

“Hey.”

“I’m Angela.”

“I sort of guessed.”

“You’re Jack.”

“I am.”

“You have a nice home.”

“Thanks. It’s a great house for entertaining.”

“Do you do that often? Is this your little sanctuary?”

“Yes, to both. I guess we do it often. The people here tonight are here pretty regularly. I’m good for an hour or two and then I like to take a break from all the commotion.”

“It’s nice,” she said and we were quiet for a while. “It’s nice to have friends to share everything with.”

“It is. It’s very nice. Have you met Kim?”

“I have met Kim. She’s wonderful. She thinks you’re wonderful. She told me all about you. It sounds like you have something very special.” I nodded but I wasn’t sure if she could see that in the dim light.

“Did you meet everyone else?”

“I think so. Doctor Calhoun is really something. She is very, very...”

“Southern?”

“Yes. You can understand her?

“I can. Lula Mae sounds like honey to me.”

“This is going to take some getting used to.”

“Dane has found it to be worth his while. He got my mom, after all.”

“I can understand him. He sounds funny but I can understand him.”

“He’s a Yankee. They all sound funny. He means well.”

“He means well. Bless his heart.”

“There you go. Listen to you sounding all southern and everything,” I said.

“I’ll work at it. It’s so funny to hear Karen with an accent.”

“She doesn’t have much of one. At least I don’t think so. What do you think of Franklin?” I asked.

“He’s very strong. Not like strength wise. He’s decisive. I can see why Karen likes him. He’s a man’s man.”

“I have never thought of my big brother as a man’s man. It seems weird.”

“Interesting. Everyone was bragging about you, you know.”

“Really? Everyone?”

“Well, Kim, of course. Dane had a lot of good things to say, and when he said them, Pat agreed.” Pat. Mr. McTighe.

“That’s nice. It’s nice to be well thought of.”

“I wish I was,” she said, quietly. I looked at her hard, really assessing her. There was no mistaking the resemblance between her and Karen. Karen was younger than Franklin but Angela looked older than Mom. She was still pretty but she looked older. Maybe she was.

“Ah. Can I tell you a secret?” I asked and she nodded. “All of those people in the other room knew what you were going through. Everyone in there agreed to help in any way we can.”

“That’s really good to hear,” she said and I thought she was a bit unbelieving and maybe grateful.

“I’ll tell you something I haven’t heard from any of them.”

“What’s that?” Now she was really curious.

“Judgment. I never heard anyone say, ‘she should have done this’, or ‘shouldn’t have done that.’ I didn’t hear any of that. Everyone in there loves Karen and Franklin and you are family.” I didn’t have anything to add to that and we were both quiet. I heard the music change. “I sense dancing in the near future. Shall we?” I stood and offered my hand and we went to the rec room where dancing had begun.

The dance music playing didn’t have much to do with Christmas. It didn’t matter. Kim was dancing with Franklin; Karen was dancing with Mom. It was crazy. I looked at Angela and then we danced. Eventually, everyone danced with everyone else. Kim laughed like I’d never heard her laugh when Mr. McTighe and I danced a slow dance together. Mostly, we stepped on each other’s feet trying to figure out who was leading. He tried to dip me, but that didn’t work very well.

Mom and Mrs. McTighe served up an amazing dinner. After dessert, we sort of ambushed Angela. Mrs. McTighe started off.

“Angela, everyone in this room is on your side. We all know your story. We knew it before Karen and Christie went to get you. Here’s a list of phone numbers,” she said, sliding a small, laminated card across to Angela. Angela took it and stared at it while Mrs. McTighe continued.

“You can call any of us on that list. We’ve all agreed. But you’ll have better success if you have a plan in mind and a priority. We want to help you with that. Christie works in the evenings but not every night. Pat and I work days, but we have a secretary who has been instructed to give your calls priority. Dane, Hank, and Lula Mae are all doctors with erratic schedules to match their personalities,” she said and we laughed. “Veronica works in HR at Bosch and she has hours about like Pat and me. Kim and Jack are teenagers, and as such, are unpredictable and irresponsible.” That got another laugh. “Either of them will be more than happy to help you but Jack is just a child and doesn’t have his driver’s license yet so he’s of limited use.” Everyone laughed again.

I listened to her talk in such a matter-of-fact, but soothing voice, with plenty of humor mixed in and it was obvious why she was doing the talking. It was masterful.

“We are dry. All of us. We have cleared any and all alcohol from our houses. If you can go without, so can we. Kim and Jack were T-boned last year by a drunk driver who died in that accident. I don’t think it’s tough for any of us to give it up.”

“Speak for yourself,” Veronica said. “This is supposed to be for Angela’s benefit but I guess I need it, too.”

“We thought it was important to lay this all out for you. We want you to see a united front of people that want nothing more than your success and happiness. So, dear, do you have any questions for any of us?”

Angela was crying. “I can’t believe you all are doing this,” she sobbed. “Did I say it right?” Everyone chipped in the proper way to say y’all. “Southern accents on TV don’t get it right, do they?”

“Dukes,” I said. “Dukes of Hazzard.”

“I’m sure he’ll tell you Daisy Duke is especially good,” Kim said, shaking her head.

“Miss Bach demonstrates an undeniably authentic southern accent that is to be admired by all,” Doctor Legare said.

“See?” I said as Lula Mae was digging an elbow into his ribs.

“The three of you are all doctors?”

“We are,” Doctor Calhoun said, and paused. “Dane is a thoracic surgeon. Hank is an orthopedic surgeon, although he does more consulting these days.”

“And you?”

“I’m a neurosurgeon. Mostly pediatric, but I’m not limited to that.”

“You are literally a brain surgeon,” Angela said, in awe but also a bit mystified. “And you are both attorneys, Franklin is an engineer, and Christie, you went to school for it. I’m just, oh my,” she said and held her face in her hands.

“Mom was an accountant,” Karen said. “Accounts receivable for Mobile South, right Mom?” She nodded.

Veronica looked at Karen and mouthed, “We have an opening,” then put her finger to her lips. Since Veronica worked in human resources for Bosch she would know.

Mom reached across and put her hand on Angela’s forearm. “No one here is qualified to help you because of their education or career, Angela. We’re all qualified because we care.” Mom made the universal mom sign for the rest of us to clear out and everyone did so quietly, leaving Mrs. McTighe, Karen, and Mom.

“Mrs. McTighe is amazing,” I said to Mr. McTighe when we got to the rec room.

“She is a gentle soul,” Doctor Legare said.

“She has her moments,” Mr. McTighe said, “But don’t let her fool you. She can bring the fire when she wants to.”

“That’s a fact,” Kim said, and I was sure she’d been on the receiving end of her mom’s fire. Everyone had to get up early the next day so we talked for a couple of minutes and then everyone left. I went to my room and found the door unlocked. I needed to figure out what the protocol was for that.

We had one week of school left before Christmas break. I felt sort of bad for the teachers since they would have to work hard to keep our attention. They were stuck between a rock and a hard place with some of them making important things due that week and others almost taking the week off. My classes fell into the former category and I had to bust my butt to keep up. That doesn’t happen often for me.

At lunch on Tuesday, there was a pretty big commotion at the football players’ table. I was sort of used to it and tuned it out until Kim looked over and smiled.

“Whatever is going on is coming this way, isn’t it?” I asked without looking.

“Whatever is going on is very definitely coming this way,” she said, still smiling.

“Good news or bad?”

“See for yourself,” she said and by then the commotion was at my shoulder.

“Aquaman!!” I looked up.

“Vince!” I stood and we gave each other a manly hug. A manly hug is like a regular hug only much more manly. “Pull up a seat,” I said and he slid in next to Kim, sort of shooing everyone else away with a smile.

“I hear you’re fast. I also heard you two were on the news. Tell me about it,” he said as Lani slid in next to him.

I nodded to Kim. She smiled, knowing this would be a routine we’d probably play out hundreds of times in our lives. If I could let her do the talking, I would, and she didn’t mind. Kim related as much as she could before the bell rang.

“I’m back. School doesn’t start for me until January fourth and I’ll be one hour and fifty-eight minutes away,” he said.

“Not two hours?” I asked.

“No. Those two minutes matter. I’ll call you. You’re done on Friday, right?”

“We’ve got our weekend scheduled, Baby,” Kim said. “I have a fitting tonight and if the weather holds up, we have a photo shoot tomorrow afternoon. Just a reminder.”

“Look at you, two. What’s the shoot for?” Vince asked as we walked toward the door.

Kim told him about Marion’s Bridal and all that entailed. Vince couldn’t be happier for us. He promised to call and we’d figure something out.

That afternoon at PE, Coach Leonard used Bobby and me, moving us around to work with different guys. He gave us each teaching goals and we did what we could. A couple of guys started catching on and Gil really picked up what we were doing. We joked about having an aquatic boxing team.

Back home, we had a fast but solid back and biceps workout, then Kim went inside to get ready. I asked Mom about Angela and she said that, so far, everything looked good. Karen had told her that with so many people on her side she would be afraid to screw up. I thought that having so many of us would be intimidating but it worked out the other way around. Karen was happy and that was a really big deal.

I changed and met Kim at the truck for the trip downtown. “You look really nice, Baby.”

“Why, thank you.”

“You always look good but when you put on that red lipstick...”

“You like my cheerleader lipstick?”

“I do. You look really good. You look good enough to eat.”

“Stop,” she said. And then a few moments later, “Maybe later.”

I watched while Katie measured Kim. Once she’d measured her, Kim put on a dress so Katie could pin it for alteration. I had been wandering around the shop when I turned to look at what they were doing. Kim had her back to me, then looked over her shoulder and my heart stopped.

Wow.

Katie was explaining the dress to Kim. “This is a beautiful floral crepe A-line dress that really shows off your lines.” Boy, did it. She patted the side of the dress and then stood back to look. “Sweetheart, you are just beautiful. We’ll shoot this, and I have another ballgown and a trumpet that we’ll put you in. Not everyone is going to fit into something like this and every bride wants something that will flatter them.”

“Miss Katie, is there a style of dress that Kim wouldn’t look good in?”

She looked back at me and smiled. “Kim would look good in a tent or nothing at all.”

“Ooh. I like that one,” I said. Katie hadn’t realized what she said. She looked back and forth between us, both smiling, and when she realized what she’d said, she blushed.

“Oh, you know what I mean. Oh, lord. I should have known, when I decided to try to work with kids. Behave yourselves.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Kim said, pretending to be contrite.

I stared. The strapless dress showed off Kim’s shoulders and the fit and cut in front really accentuated her curves. A slit up the side showed off her toned leg, the summer tan gone. Kim stepped up on a stool so Katie could work on the hem, humming quietly.

“I have never seen anyone more beautiful,” I said and she showed me her dimples. Even better.

Katie paused working, looked up at Kim, then at me, smiled, and went back to work. When she was happy with the dress, she told us what to expect the next afternoon. We told her I’d proposed at The Wappoo Cut. She knew it, and understood our love for it but didn’t like it for engagement pictures. We’d meet our photographer at White Point Garden, at the tip of the Charleston peninsula. We would take engagement photos there and we were happy with that. Then, we’d move indoors for Kim’s wedding gown photos.

Kim finished up and Katie gave us a few final instructions and we were on the road. “This doesn’t seem much like work,” Kim said.

“Having fun?”

“That was a rhetorical question, right? Trying on wedding dresses? I’m doing what every little girl in the world dreams of doing.”

On the drive back to my house, I said, “I can’t believe it will be two years. Two years is a long time.” I don’t think Kim heard me.

“Marci told me about your conversation the other day.” Oh, oh. Was this a good thing or a bad thing? “She was feeling pretty low and you cheered her up.” Oh, good.

“She was just having a rough day, I think. Half the school was gone and she was having a bit of self-doubt.”

“She said she wanted someone to look at her the way you look at me, but that you made it seem like she was beautiful, even if no one else did that.”

“Wow. That’s good, right?”

“That’s very good. You’re a good man, Jack.” I didn’t really have a response for that so I didn’t say anything. “I mean it. You support my friends, kind of like all of us support Angela. That’s a good thing. I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks. I just said what I thought needed to be said.”

“You meant it, though. You can’t fake that stuff.”

I was happy. I had no idea my conversation with Marci would come back to me and I certainly didn’t think I would get bonus points for it but I was happy with that. Thanks, Marci.

It was already dark outside. I pointed, and asked Kim to turn right on Confederate Circle. I saw a spot I wanted and pointed for her to pull over. We were on a very dark street, between distant streetlights, with an overgrown willow tree draping over the truck. I slid closer and Kim smiled.

We kissed, then moved to second base. She was already in a good mood. I slid my hand up, under her blouse and she cooed. When I kissed her neck, she unlatched her seatbelt, an obvious sign that I should steal third. I ran my hand over her stomach, teasing her. She arched up to meet my hand. She urged me on and I slid my hand down, inside her panties.

“Thank you. I’ve wanted you since I saw you watching me in a wedding dress. Oh, my. Yes, Baby. Just keep doing that,” she said as I slid a finger inside. Man, she was wound up.

My hand was working furiously and she was right on the point of no return when flashing blue lights lit up the truck. What the heck. I couldn’t stop. I felt her pulse, squeezing my finger and she held my forearm tight to her. I looked back past her rifle rack at a cop approaching the car. I pulled my hand out and tried to reposition her clothes as she gasped and panted.

A flashlight lit up the interior, and then tapped on Kim’s window. Kim’s eyes went wide. She had no idea what was going on.

“Oh, god, Jack, what do I do?”

“Roll down the window, Baby. That’s all you can do.”

She looked at me again, then turned toward the cop and rolled down the window. “Evening folks. Can I see a license and registration, please?”

“Is something wrong?” she asked, clearly still out of breath.

He smiled a little. I don’t think Kim noticed but I did. “It doesn’t appear to be.” Kim reached around in her bag and pulled out her wallet and tried to hand it to him.

“Would you take the license out for me, please.”

“Sure, sure,” she said. She was totally flustered and I could feel my heart racing, too. She handed him her license. He shined his light on the front, then flipped it over, while Kim held out her registration.

He handed them both back. He smiled and lowered the light so it wasn’t in Kim’s eyes. “If I wasn’t on the job, I’d rather be at home, doing what you two are doing.” He smiled. “At home. You’re in public. Consider this a warning. Not in public.” He nodded.

“We’re free to go?” I asked. He nodded. “Can I ask, do you know us? You’re looking at us like you know us. That’s a weird question, isn’t it? Sorry.” Shut up, Jack. Just thank him. Why was I talking?

“Were you in a white truck almost a year ago. Side swiped.” Kim and I both nodded. “This is my normal beat. I was there. Second or third on the scene. You’re both lucky. You have a nice evening,” he said and turned and walked back to his car.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“I don’t know. I came and then, whew. I didn’t get to enjoy it for very long. Do it again.”

“You should probably start the truck and drive away.”

She started the truck, we put our seatbelts back on and pulled away. I waved at the cop. We were only a minute from the house. As Kim pulled into the driveway, I asked, “Feel better?”

“Yes, no, maybe. Yes. That was so weird. I came. That was nice. I needed that, thank you very much. But then the blue light and cop and all that sort of stole my bliss.” She breathed a heavy sigh and laughed, “That’s probably my most memorable orgasm ever. Sheesh.”

“We need a better place,” I said.

“Inherit the Wind. Mom and dad won’t go near it until March. Too cold.” Their sailboat was docked only a few minutes away and provided all the privacy we could ever want.

“We should practically be living on that boat. Oh, oh. Here comes Dane.”

“So?”

“So, you need to slide out on the passenger side, away from him.” She looked at me funny. “The Aquatruck smells like sex, Baby.” Her eyes got big with understanding.

I watched her discretely lock the driver’s door and slide out after me. “Hey, Dane,” she said, trying to regain her composure.

“How’d the fitting go?”

“Good. Lots of fun.”

“Great. Stay for dinner?” She checked her watch and hopped back in the truck, apologizing as she went. Man, was she discombobulated.

“The wind was blowing and I hadn’t had a chance to check the tarp. I was afraid the trailer might be exposed,” he said. We walked over and checked it. It looked good but we tucked a few loose spots in. Satisfied, we went in for dinner.

Mom asked me about the day and especially about our time at Marion’s Bridal. I told her about it and how amazing Kim looked in white. She asked how school was going. I told her about Chemistry and English, that we were boxing in PE, and that Vince had made an appearance.

“It just doesn’t slow down for you, does it?”

“No, ma’am. I guess not. It’s supposed to after swimming, isn’t it?” I asked.

“Swimming is extra, Buddy. It’s just supposed to go back to normal but then you did a TV interview and look what happened. Reminds me, you have a package from the station. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s a bunch more messages.” She shook her head but I knew she was happy for us. Kim was happy; therefore, I was happy, therefore Mom was happy, and Dane didn’t mind.

I knocked out some history and chemistry homework, worked on my journal for a few minutes, read for a while, and hit the sack.

The weather Wednesday was as good as it gets in December. We drove to Marion’s Bridal to get ready for our photo shoot. Katie was happy with my choice of clothes. I was going to be featured in a couple of engagement photos and then it would be all Kim. I was good with that. I wanted engagement photos of Kim and that pretty much meant I’d have to be in them.

Kim sat at a counter and, Erin, a girl I’d never met, sat across with an enormous makeup kit. She turned on a bright light and studied Kim’s face. She didn’t explain anything. She didn’t even say anything. She just started to work. I didn’t think Kim needed makeup but who was I to say? When she finished, Kim looked great and it honestly didn’t look like Kim had makeup on. I guess that’s the secret.

Erin pointed at the seat and motioned for me to sit down. “I don’t think so,” I said. I had no plans to wear makeup. Kim started to say something, thought better of it, and waited. Erin looked at Katie. Katie looked at me.

“You look fine, dear. I think he’s good to go,” she said to Erin and that was that. Good.

Kim changed into her getting-engaged-clothes and we climbed into a van for the short trip to White Point Garden. Our photographer was already at the gazebo. Armand introduced himself and asked if we’d ever been shot before. Nope. He explained the process and positioned Kim. Then he moved a couple of tripods with large reflective light diffusers on either side of her. One was a large, silver colored thing and the other, a smaller gold colored circle. Armand explained everything while he worked.

Once he was happy with everything, he gave me a light meter and had me stand next to Kim. He read it, clicked a couple of buttons, and moved me into position so I could ask the big question. Katie had said we’d use one or two pictures with me in them. What she hadn’t said was that Armand would have to take a hundred pictures to get one or two that he liked. He moved us all around and was incredibly descriptive of what he wanted. For the last twenty shots or so, we just got to play around while he took pictures. That was a lot more fun.

“You, sir, are finished,” he said.

“No more pictures of me?”

“No. Plus, you are getting married so, you are also finished.” He had a funny accent and a sense of humor. I liked him.

Back in the van, we drove over to the Nathaniel Russell House for her wedding gown pictures. We had the downstairs to ourselves as the last tour of the day had finished. I offered to help set up while Kim changed but Armand was happy to do it himself. I think he was concerned I’d break something and he was pretty quick anyway.