Go back and finish the conversation with Lisa

Jonny walked back into the house, the little gears turning wildly in his head. Selina would pick him up the following day, take him to the event, and there mayhem would ensue. Jonny had to think long and hard about whether to allow Lisa to come; this could get dangerous. If his plan worked, it was not entirely clear that his Jack body would survive that night. He walked confidently back into Lisa’s house and found her in the kitchen cutting up some tomatoes on the big island in the kitchen’s center. She smiled widely when she saw Jonny again. “Would you like one, Master?” she said as she sliced the produce on a cutting board. “No thanks. You made really good pancakes this morning,” he said, “and last night was amazing.” Lisa just beamed. Soon the sound of cutting slowed, and Lisa set the knife to rest on the cutting board.

“Master, may we talk please?” she said as she looked earnestly at him. “We can,” Jonny answered. Lisa walked up to Jonny, who stood pleasantly awaiting whatever it was she had to say. “Um, before Selina came you and I—we—we were talking about something in the other room and, uh,” she stumbled verbally, looking down as if nervous or unsure about her words, “so I would like very much to, to, to finish what we were talking about in there because I think this is very important to me and I hope to you and, well, I know you’re busy, Master, but I would be very very happy if you would maybe listen to me while I tell you some things that I’ve been thinking and feeling and be patient while I ramble because I probably will but these things matter a lot so now, or maybe later if now is no good, maybe you could find some time in your schedule to listen to me while I tell you a couple things that I think are important to, um, me,” Lisa finished that whopper of a speech, so nervous that she looked up at Jonny for just the last 3 or 4 words.

Jonny stood for a moment. “Uh, sure, now . . . now’s good,” he said. “Oh good, that’s, that’s very very good,” Lisa said with a wide smile, relief apparent in her voice. She seemed giddy like a school girl. She stepped closer to Jonny and took both his hands in hers.

“So,” she started, taking a very deep breath, “I have these certain kind of feelings, well, um for . . . for you, and you see I think you’re just about the most amazing person I’ve ever met. You see, last night was really very special for me, and I would like to do that sort of thing with you a bunch more times if that’s all right, but I think I really really deeply care about you because the sex last night was bested only by the fact that I got to wake up next to you this morning and make you pancakes in bed,” she said with a huge smile across her face and her cheeks blushing, “and I loved making you pancakes and I loved how happy you and I seem to be when we’re together even if it’s ‘cause you need to compel a police officer to steal evidence from a **** trial. And, when you kissed me on the lips this morning there were these, um, these things in my stomach, the little things with wings . . . butterflies? Yes, I think that’s it, butterflies in my stomach when you kissed me, and I like butterflies very much, I really do, and I would like to feel the butterflies with you more often, so I thought that, um, maybe . . . you know, if, maybe you like spending time with me too, there’s this new restaurant that just opened, and it’s on the roof of this beautiful building down by the beach, and it’s called ‘Cielo,’ which I think means ‘sky’ ‘cause it’s a skyscraper where the restaurant is, and thought that, if you like food and I like food that maybe you would like to take me there tonight after I get off work because that’s usually when I eat, but we could go there any time you might like to I think it’s open a bunch of different times and I want to try it, but the important thing is that I want you there when I do, but I would really really be very happy if you would be willing to go on a date with me,” she said, seemingly all in one breath, and looked up at the waiting Jonny.

“Um, wow,” Jonny said, not sure he could possibly have possessed someone with big enough lungs to get all that out at once.

Lisa looked at him with baited breath, like a woman waiting for the last few lotto numbers to be announced. “I want to go out on a date with you, and I don’t care that you’re younger than me; you can rip the soul clean out of anybody who dares to say anything about the age difference. You can even posses any body you want to for the night; I don’t care whose it is though we should probably keep your Jack body around for your plan to work, but I want you and I to see if this thing that the two of us are could become . . . something important,” she said, nearing tears at the cathartic release of all that emotion.

This was a lot for Jonny to take in. He could take in entire human souls, but that was nothing compared to this. He took a deep breath.