“It says so, right there on your patch,” I replied.
Snarl pointed to the patch. “This says NOMAD.”
“Means the same thing, doesn’t it?”
He shook his head. “Not to me it doesn’t.”
“Stop being rude to Snarly or he’s never gonna ask you to go out dancing with him,” Granny said.
“Would you stop saying things like that?” I scolded.
“Yeah, Shirley. That’s not true. Come on now,” Snarl added.
“See, eventhe drifteragrees,” I said, starting to feel dizzy.
“No, I meant it wasn’t true that I wouldn’t ask you out dancing if you kept on giving me a hard time. Youseem like fun and you’re clearly into me. So, how ’bout it? You and me at the Saddle Rack?”
“What?” I asked, trying to wrap my head around what he was saying.
“I’m asking if you’d like to go out with me tonight and trying to be funny while I do it.”
Snarl’s words disappeared beneath the din of buzzing bees and my field of vision narrowed until I slipped into darkness.
* * *
When I awoke, my head was in Snarl’s lap and my grandmother was praying out loud that God would forgive me of my sins and spare my life.
“You, okay?” Snarl asked softly as my eyes fluttered open.
I nodded. “What happened?”
“You passed out. I managed to catch you before your head hit the floor, but not a second sooner, so your ass is probably gonna be a little sore for a few days.”
“Praise God, you’re alright,” Granny shouted.
“I’m okay, Granny. Please don’t get excited. No need to drag the Lord into this.”
“She’s okay, Shirley. I was an Army medic, remember?”
Granny came into view with a plate of cookies and a glass of orange juice. “What would we have done without you, Snarly?”
“Thank you, Shirley. Set those down next to me and I’ll make sure our patient gets them. You go ahead and rest yourself now.” He smiled. “We’ll be in before Wheel starts. I promise.”
“You were in the Army?” I asked.
“In another life,” he said with a sad smile.
“Thank you for catching me, and for the use of your lap.”
“This sort of thing happen to you a lot?” Snarl asked. “Passing out, I mean.”
I shook my head and pointed to my left bicep. “No, I had a round of vaccines just before I came over here.”
“You have some sort of contagious disease I should be worried about?” he asked.
I laughed. “No, I’m traveling to Africa to study black rhinoceroses, so I had to get a bunch of shots in order to travel. The doctor said that Imight feel a little lightheaded and dizzy today and that I should—”
“Take it easy and rest, but instead of doing that, you hopped in your car, raced over here and violently interrogated a sweet old lady and a well-meaning drifter about the shady distribution of baked goods in the area.”
