Page 53 of Steinbeck
“That was weird, but you know Stein.He can’t just...be normal.”
Conrad laughed.“Yes.Normalis not the word I’d use for him.He’s been so restless for the past few months.”
“It’s the girl.She makes him crazy.”
Conrad looked at him.“So, yes to the girlfriend.”
“Yes to something.And I get it.Harper has always been...I don’t know.Under my skin, I guess.”
“In a good way.”
“In a makes-me-crazy kind of way.Except for today.She’s acting...weird.”
Conrad stood beside him, hands in his pockets, reading the menu board.“She seems fine to me.”
“That’s because you’re not dating her.”
“She’s holding your hand, laughing at your jokes.”He glanced at Jack.“You’re overthinking this.”
“Maybe.I mean...Okay, so a couple nights ago, I had this whole romantic thing planned.I was...”He sighed.“I was going to ask her to marry me.”
Conrad looked at him, a smile cresting across his face.“About time.”
“I know.I was sort of...Maybe I did it wrong, but I told her I needed her help naming Flo.”
Conrad frowned.“That doesn’t sound like a proposal.”
“I know—but see, I was going to say it was like naming our first child, and then suddenly it sounded stupid in my head?—”
“That is stupid.”
“And I just thought...nope.I sort of blew it, and before I could regroup, she asked me to take her home so she could keep working on her book.”
“Penny says she’s close to finishing it.”Conrad turned back to the menu board.“So, you take another shot.”
“That’s the thing.I feel like...”He sighed.“I have the ring and everything, and it all suddenly feels wrong.”
Conrad moved up in line.A popcorn machine bulleted fresh corn into a glass case.Behind that, nacho cheese baked in a hot pot and fresh pretzels spun in a warmer.
The server asked for Conrad’s order.Popcorn for Penny.Nothing for him.Conrad glanced at Jack.
“I’m not sure I know what she wants.”
Con glanced at him.“Um, she said a giant pretzel and cheese.”
Right.Actually, “No, that was Austen.Harper wants nachos.Although I’m so full I could...Okay, I’ll have a long dog, with onions.”
The server punched in his order and Conrad paid with his phone.
“Thanks, bro.”
Conrad moved over to the receiving line.
Jack shoved his hands into his pockets.Outside, the band sang a Ben King cover.
“When you need a friend...a shoulder you can cry on,
someone who understands what you’re going through,
