Youngest son just left...

After being here much less than an hour.

He had warned us he might come home, in one of our phone conversations yesterday.

"If the roads are good."

At least he has a propoer sense of respect, or fear, for our winter highways. The day dawned clear and calm, so I suspected he would arrive.

Not to see us though... heaven forbid. Not even for his heeler.

Nope, he came to deliver a book.

A college text one of his friends wanted to borrow. I tried explaining about this thing called the Postal Service. Sort of like email, only you can send physical things, instead of just text messages.

But it seemed like too much trouble to him. Packaging the book, going to the place called a "post office", and spending money to send it.

Driving 93 miles, and then 93 miles back, seems so much easier.

Cheaper, too, since the postage would come out of his pocket, whereas gas money is always off our credit card.

"Free" to him, essentially.

Add to that a home-cooked dinner. (I warned the wife her special Italian treat had better be ready early, else she would be delaying his return until after dark. For once, she listened, and he got it hot off the stove.)

Add to that, he stripped the wife's wallet clean. Me, I managed to hang on to half the paper money in mine.

Add to that the brief nuggling with his warm, fuzzy heeler. Who absolutely refused to lick him good-bye, presumably under the idea that if you don't say good-bye, then people can't leave.

She finally gave his face a reluctant lick.

And then he left.

"See?"

But no, despite all those benefits, I suspect there was other motivation here. You see, the friend who wanted to borrow his book?

Is female.