I realized we were headed that way, and I stopped by the house to hunt down Debbie to make sure she knew everything was alright. Ron accepted a Guinness from me, and after he complemented Debbie on the smells arising from the kitchen (hint, hint) we reviewed the addition.

He was a perfectionist, checking out everything, looking into every nook and cranny and asking about a zillion questions. At the end we stood outside looking over the work. "Good work you've done here. Someone knows what they're doing. Makes me feel a little more comfortable."

"I've got good friends in the business."

"If they're ever in need of work, have...