Chapter 7

“Hey, bro,” I said.

“Hey ho.” He sounded distracted or annoyed or both.

“We picked up Jack’s parents at the airport,” I said.

“Oh.”

“I’m thinking about inviting them to Mama’s house for Sunday dinner. Thought y’all would like to meet them.”

“Oh.”

I waited for Bill to decide if he was going to talk or not. It took him at least a minute to warm up to the idea of having a conversation over the phone. Forget about e-mail, or texting, or Facebook updates. Answering the phone once in a while was the extent of his infatuation with modern technology.

“So, what do you think?” I asked after the silence grew.

“You sure it’s a good idea?”

“Not sure what you mean.”

“Wiley, I know you talk about getting married and stuff, but you know that’s never going to happen.”

“Why do you say that?”

“It’s illegal in the state of Mississippi, to start with. And it’s just, you know…”

“It’s just what?”