Small Places : Nick L Belardes [63 of 128]

• Katie: "You've never seen a running back until you've seen my little girl plow through several linemen.
• They cry to their mamas every time." Me: "It's good to see you've taught her a thing or two about your weightlifting days."
• We're late getting back to the office. "You can't teach an 8-year-old girl weightlifting. She's just mean and likes to make boys cry.
• I support such goals. Healthy." Me: "I wonder if you make Vishnu cry every time you leave his office."
• Katie laughs, "I do try to sway mankind. The things I tell you." I watch Katie finish her last lick of coffee. We get up and walk.
• Me: "Yeah, I often wonder that myself. So, why do you tell me everything?"
• Twenty.
• We have the best false sense of family in all of downtown, I think, as Joan stands the corporate Christmas tree onto its spinning base.
• It's the same plastic tree each year. Tall, it turns slowly like some kind of new George Foreman tree grill you can attach marshmallows to.
• Joan loathes everybody these days. Her eyes are red with hate. But for a fleeting moment, the fake decor sort of fills her with Xmas cheer.