He smiled good-naturedly.  "Hard not to, not complaining though.  I can't believe you rode all the way from Chicago.  Your ass has to be numb by now."  He let her get comfortable and sat across from her, attempting to appear somewhat casual.  At her questions he nodded silently for a moment before responding.<br/><br/>"Things are all right.  Mom's been kinda different now that Dad's dead.  He's still kind of around, but during the week she gets weird sometimes.  I think she was glad to step down, gave her less to deal with, and Susanne does a good job taking care of things.  She's always been bright, fond of taking charge too.  So how have you been?"