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“Isinterestingreally the right word for it?” Katherine asked.

“Okay, I guess I thought you’d find them entertaining.”

“And some of them were,” Matthew said. “Trust me, I’ve seen enough crazy stuff on the job to understand that sometimes it’s better to laugh than get freaked out. But for me, there’s this imaginary line I’d like to stay behind. Because, no offense, but there’s something about a pastor telling a story like that that makes it feel… well…”

“Wrong?”

“Yes!” Katherine and Matthew answered.

“I get it,” Peter sighed with a shrug. “I really do. But I don’t know who else I can tell my crazy stories to if I can’t tell youguys. You’re my homies.Mi compadres. Besides, I think you’ll really like this latest one. She’s pretty great.”

“How great?”

“So great that I can’t wait for you guys to meet her.” Peter practically blushed as he pushed around the puzzle pieces in front of him before he added, “So great, I can’t imagine wanting to meet anyone else.”

“Are you serious?” Katherine brightened with surprise. “No, wait, don’t answer that. I can see it on your face. You’re really happy.”

“I am. She’s the coolest, smartest, sweetest girl I’ve ever met,” Peter said with a wide smile. “Can I tell you about her now?”

“Is it G-rated?”

“No one’s that sweet,” Matthew laughed.“What about PG-13?”

“Well, she’s definitely sweet,” Peter began. “And our story is practically G-rated. But I don’t think it’ll stay that way for long. I haven’t wanted to kiss someone this badly since high school.”

“Really?” Katherine squealed, realizing she needed to rein it in. She was starting to sound like Beth Ann. “Okay, tell us about her.”

“Well, there’s not much to tell because it’s only been a few weeks, and we haven’t met in person yet because we agreed to take things slow. But I really like her. She’s a nice person. She’s got her head on straight. And she accepts everything about me. My job. The divorce. Everything,” Peter explained, his tone filled with admiration. “Last week, we went from messaging through the dating app to exchanging numbers. Now, we can’t seem to get off the phone at night. It’s like we’re kids again.”

“What’s her name?”

“Shrinky Dink,” Peter chuckled. “At least that’s her profile name.”

“You don’t know her real name?” Katherine frowned. “Haven’t you asked?”

“Sure, lots of times.”

“You have her number,” Matthew pointed out. “Try searching it on the internet and see if anything comes up.”

“Oh yeah, that’s a great idea,” Katherine added. “You can’t go on calling her Shrinky Dink forever.”

“I know, but the more I talk to her, the less of a rush I’m in to find out. I wanna give her the time she needs to be comfortable with me.” Peter’s eyes twinkled from a memory. “Besides, I kinda like it. It’s cute. Maybe one day it’ll be a private joke between us.”

“What does she call you?” Matthew asked.

“Humble Pie.”

“Humble Pie and Shrinky Dink?”

“Pretty cute, huh?”

When Peter smiled, Katherine couldn’t help but smile back.

“And get this, we agreed to have our first date at The Copperwall.”

“Really?” Katherine’s eyes welled up. “I feel so honored.”

“Whoa! Wait a minute… what’s happening right now?” Peter asked, looking at Matthew then back at Katherine. “Are you gonna cry?”