Page 77 of In the Air Tonight

His talent is truly dazzling. “I’m seriously impressed.”

“I used to get in trouble in school for doodling nonstop.” He shrugs as he grins. “I showed them, right? Making a living out of coloring.”

“You sure did. I can’t believe the sheer breadth of it. You do it all.”

“But you can see where my interest lies.” He uses his chin to point toward the animals as he eats a cracker and cheese. He brings me a coffee mug with wine in it. “Nothing but the best in my studio.”

I touch my mug to his. “Cheers. Thank you for inviting me to the inner sanctum.”

“My pleasure. When you tell someone you’re an illustrator, they tend to look at you with skepticism. It helps to show them what that means.”

“Was I skeptical?”

“Not at all, which is why I liked you right away.”

“Oh, well, that’s good.” He’s flirting, right? I’m so out of practice, I’m not entirely sure.

“It’s very good. I appreciate people who aren’t skeptical of things they don’t understand or actually say things like, ‘oh, so you color for a living’ in an insulting tone.”

I laugh at the way he says that. “Do people really say that?”

“More often than you’d believe. My cousin tells everyone that’s what I do.”

He makes me laugh twice in two minutes, which has to be a record. It’s been such a long time since I felt like laughing or smiling.

He holds up the jar. “What’s this stuff?”

“Fig spread. Try it. It’s good.”

“Hmmm, I’ll be the judge of that.” He spreads some on a cracker and takes a bite. “Wow, that is good.”

“Told ya.”

“I never would’ve pictured figs in a spread.”

“You learn something new every day.”

“So it seems. Do you like pizza?”

“Doesn’t everyone?”

“I have a really cool pizza oven and every imaginable topping since I didn’t know what you’d prefer.”

“So you, like, planned ahead for my visit?”

“Something like that.”

“I’m impressed.”

“Don’t be. Pizza is the high-water mark when it comes to me and cooking. But my pizza is extraordinary. People come from all over for it.”

“If you’re going to do one thing well, you may as well kill it.”

“That’s my philosophy for all things that I do well. Which is draw and cook pizza.”

“You’re a great dog dad, too.”

“Okay, three things.”

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