[ There's no way he can ignore—that anyone would be able to ignore—whatever's going on between the kid and Kim. He looks over to her, willing himself to see her through a stranger's eyes: her suit and high heels and rigidity. As if every movement should crackle.

She looks scared. Objectively. He snaps his gaze back to the kid and wonders—a runaway train of a thought—what would happen if he took a step forward, whether Mikey would snarl at him like a dog at the end of its leash or whether the chain would break.

And then Jimmy laughs, short and perplexed. ] You're coming on a little strong. Until, uh, twenty seconds ago, I was having my own conversation. [ Light, but with budding curiosity: ] Why, what'd I miss?