"So... What's new, kid?" Jimmy Gambini asked plainly, sipping his coffee as he peered into John's soul from across the cafe table they both sat at.

John Juliano pecked at his eggs and bacon with toast. He shrugged indifferently. "Not much, Jimmy. Usual bullshit with my guys at the warehouse. Still chasin' your guy at the docks around. That mother ****er keeps duckin' me, Jimmy. I'm gonna have to hurt this Irish mutt before you get your money," John replied as he nibbled on his bacon, sipping his cup of tea.

Jimmy looked him over with an intensity residing in his seasoned eyes. "What about Alexa?" he asked quickly, taking another sip of his coffee before he sat back in his chair.

"What about her?"

"How's she doing?" Jimmy elaborated with a smile.

Johnny took another bite of fresh, salty bacon. "She's good, Jimmy. Misses you, you know? You never come around no more."

Jimmy glanced down at the table, rapping his knuckles against the surface several times. "I know I haven't been around a whole lot, and you know why that is. But I'm going to come see you and Alexa sometime next week, okay?"

"Yeah, she'd like that, Jimmy, I mean, she really would."

"So, when are you gonna knock her up, kid?" Jimmy asked, leaning forward against his elbows with a wide smile.

"What?" John asked, nearly spraying his tea all over Jimmy and the table in front of them.

Jimmy laughed, winking at John. "When are you going to have a child with this girl? You know she's a keeper, Johnny."

"I know."

"No! No you don't, Tadpole, or you would have knocked her up a long time ago."

John chuckled, glancing out the window and let a deep sigh escape his lips. "We're just not ready, I guess. I mean, it's not like we haven't talked about it. And we plan on having kids, but... I guess we're waiting for the right time, and it's not now--soon, maybe, but not right now, you know?"

Jimmy nodded, picking a strip of bacon off of John's plate. "Picture the babies that girl would make, Johnny," Jimmy said softly, perking up his eyebrows as he took a large bite of bacon. "Good," he declared, taking yet another sip of hot coffee.

John sat quietly, awaiting his uncle's next words. It wasn't that he had nothing to say, just that Jimmy was the kind of guy who dictated the conversation, never the other way around. You followed Jimmy's lead, even when you felt as though you were at the wheel.

Jimmy laid a ten dollar bill on the table, and turned sideways in his chair. He glanced over at John, taking a moment of silence before he said plainly, "You'd tell me if something was goin' on, right?"

It threw John off, and he tried to remain inconspicuous. "Yeah, sure, Jimmy. Why, what's up?" he asked indifferently, their gazes clashing like fire and ice across the plate of eggs and bacon with toast.

Jimmy smiled wide and stood up out of his chair, fixing the collar of his fine grey suit around his shoulders.

"Tell Alex I miss her too!"

He left John in the cafe to finish his breakfast.