Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 96284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Okay, okay, he’d been gone a long time. But still.
Up your game, Finlay.
Not wise.
The only problem with our Friday interviews was that we had to arrive earlier to set up breakfast. At six AM, I dragged myself out of my car and balanced a bunch of food containers in my hands. Some were leftovers from food-truck Thursday that we’d have for lunch; the rest was stuff I’d picked up on the way.
Nobody wanted to hear a podcast host crunch on nachos or anything crispy, so the shopping list was specific. Croissants, yogurt, softer fruits, granola, and donuts.
It was still completely dark outside, and I was the first to show up. I flicked on the lights and came face-to-face with the mess in the living room. Paint, stacked picture frames, cushy leather chairs, and a giant table had magically appeared yesterday. Haley was gonna be busy this weekend.
I was looking forward to the upgrade, though. She’d even ordered new coffee mugs and other merch with our Off Topic logo on them. It was clear she wanted the black and burnt-orange colors to highlight our podcast’s brand.
After a quick stop to the bathroom, I washed my hands and splashed water on my face to look alive, and then I returned to the kitchen.
I put on music too, because I had to mentally prepare myself for tomorrow’s concert. That Jake listened to country and country rock from time to time was nothing new, and I could even appreciate hearing it in the background when he gardened, but that was more about the atmosphere. Country music fit the scene, Jake working up a sweat in the sunshine, kids running around, and so on.
To actively seek out country to listen to it, however…?
I was skeptical. But “different” was the keyword, and Jake had delivered. It was sort of an unwritten rule that’d become our thing lately; when we gave each other presents, we included something new, be it an activity, an experience, or a material item.
So there I stood and diced bananas while a Southern dude sang about being drunk on a plane. It was so Jake, though. This music transported me to a summer day in the backyard, with Cas and Colin goofing around, Jake bobbing his head and mouthing the lyrics as he trimmed rosebushes and plucked weeds.
Country music usually meant Jake was in a good mood.
I took a breath and inhaled the smell of coffee flooding the kitchen, and I gathered as much as I could on a tray before carrying it down the hall and into the studio. Haley had been on our asses about presentation, so I’d gotten decent at making breakfast look good. We had serving bowls and dishes for everything. Even a pitcher for the yogurt, though that was more about not showcasing brands unless we had sponsorship deals.
By the time I returned to the kitchen, Jake walked in and cocked his head.
“I’ll be damned. You’re listenin’ to Dierks Bentley.”
“I gotta prepare myself for tomorrow,” I defended.
“Hey, I wasn’t complaining.” He smirked and pushed up the sleeves of his Henley to help out. He took care of the dishes while I got the rest into the studio.
It’d been a good week for him. He was still riding a wave of relief after meeting Russell, whom he already liked. According to Jake, Nikki’s man was down-to-earth, heavily into football, and completely hooked on Nikki.
Five minutes before Joel Hayward was due, I opened my laptop in the studio and got everything ready. We had precisely three sound effects for our podcast, and I only used one of them daily—our short intro. It was a medley of voices saying, “It’s Off Topic,” “Off Topic, Off Topic,” and “Good morning, it’s time for Off Topic.” After that, I took over.
Jake joined me with coffee for everyone, and he told me he’d received a text from Seth, confirming Joel’s travel itinerary. We obviously covered travel expenses and a hotel night for out-of-towners. And Joel was heading back to San Diego a little past lunch.
I scratched my forehead and flipped open my notebook. For interview days, I needed more reminders. Today included making sure Jake and Joel didn’t lose themselves—and our followers—in military jargon.
Some reminders had been scratched over the years. Previously, we never mentioned our children by name, but whoever had created our personal Wikipedia page had added them anyway. So we’d let that go.
I kinda liked we only had one Wikipedia page. Jake and I weren’t well-known as individuals; we were Roe Finlay and Jake Denver. We were a duo. We did everything together—every documentary project, every podcast episode, every interview and promo appearance.
When the doorbell rang, Jake went to greet Joel.
I pulled up the tabs on my browser I wanted to use as my cheat sheet. Information about the Coast Guard base in San Diego, HITRON in Jacksonville, the TACLET team we would also shadow after our helicopter ride-along, and last but not least, a document with questions.