Page 77 of Heart

“It is. And the job is still with the USPS. I just thought if I was higher up, making more money, it might make a difference.” His eyes met George’s. The insecurity had returned, like a bad cold, he couldn’t shake.

George smiled, his eyes surprisingly moist. He reached out and took Mikey’s face in his hands. “Mikey, I like you just the way you are. And I want you to be happy whatever you do. If taking a job higher up in the postal service does that for you, fine. But I don’t want you to do itbecauseof me.”

“I just want you to be proud of me, George.”

“I already am. It may take a while to convince you, but I’m gonna. Would this job mean you’re no longer my mailman?”

“Yeah. It’s a supervisor position—in Bethesda.”

“So, you wouldn’t be delivering in The Circle anymore?”

“No. It’s a desk job.”

“Is that what you want?”

“I don’t know, George. Some of my co-workers have moved on that way. But some have been there longer than me, delivering mail for decades. I really don’t know.”

George sighed. “I would miss seeing you every day, but Bethesda’s not far. I can’t make that decision for you though, Mikey. But again—do not do this for me. I’m OK with you being a mailman, always was.”

“I may not even get it. I interview Tuesday.”

“Well, it’s always good experience to interview. You’re making connections that may lead somewhere down the road. That’s called networking.”

“You’re so smart, George.”

“Smart is overrated. That’s what David used to say.”

“Do you miss him?”

George nodded. “Yeah... I do. It doesn’t hurt as much as it did. But, sometimes, I have bad days.”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

“You didn’t. I did.”

“But, youdon’ttalk about him... not often.”

“It’s not that I don’t like talking about him. It’s just hard sometimes. But if I’m going to hold you to be transparent with me, I should extend the same courtesy. What do you want to know?”

Mikey thought about it. “How did you meet?”

George smiled, his eyes drifting with reminiscence. “It was at a book signing at the Borders store in Bailey’s Crossroads.”

“God, I loved that store.”

“I didn’t realize you knew of it. Surely they had Borders in Baltimore.”

“They did,” said Mikey. “Several—but none were as big as that one in Virginia. Whenever I looked for books at other Borders and they were out-of-stock, an associate would always check availability and saywe have it at the Bailey’s Crossroads store. So, I started shopping there. You know, one night a month after work, as a treat. They were open until eleven. Giant store... I could browse it forever. I never got out of there for less than a hundred dollars.”

“I didn’t know you were that big a reader.”

“Yeah. They had a big music department too. Upstairs.”

“Ah. Now, that makes perfect sense. But you also frequent B.J.’s down here, for the sing-along?”

“Yeah. Tuesday Tunes. It’s fun. You should come.”

George said nothing, just cocked his head, quizzically.