"Briggs."
"Ford."
"Hey, brother."
"Got a minute?"
"Yeah."
"Slot's opening sooner than I told you."
"How much sooner?"
"Walker pushed his last shift to the end of the month. Captain's gotta confirm the line by Monday."
"Monday?"
"I told him three weeks ago I had a name. He's asking me to make it official."
I looked at the water. Astrid was where I'd left her, the towel around her shoulders. She'd turned her back to me without thinking. She was looking at the trees.
"Shane."
"Yeah."
"There are still some things I gotta take care of up here."
A beat.
"Things."
"What things?"
"Things, Shane."
"Ford."
"Yeah."
"How long?"
"A couple of weeks."
"I can't give you a couple of weeks. I can give you till Monday."
"Yeah."
"Brother. I want you on this line. I've wanted you on this line since the night Okonkwo turned in his paperwork. If you got somethin' in Hartsdale to close out, close it out. Call me Monday. Tell me when you're comin'."
"I gotcha."
"I gotcha is not a yes, Ford."
"Yeah. Yeah, Shane. Monday."
"I'm holding you to it."
"I'll call you."
