I’d thought “Helena” was only in town for the afternoon, but she was staying in San Francisco overnight. The last time I was in Chicago she’d been too tired to hit the town, so now that she was here she committed to “last man standing” protocols. The night wouldn’t end until I said it ended.
Which was great — except that I got the news at 3 o’clock and already had plans. How the hell could I make this work?
I called E., whose new house I was supposed to visit for the first time. Arranged to make that a shorter visit. We’d just get a pizza.
I called Jimmy. “Hey, I’ve got a VIP in town and can’t be on-site for a couple of hours. Can you handle it?”