I showed up for dinner fifteen minutes late. No big deal. Robert was always…

“Well, it’s about bloody time! We’ve been waiting almost a half hour!” Robert shouted.

“Hold on a sec,” I said, trying to lighten the mood. “You were here early?!”

When Robert stood up, all I could think was, Here it comes. He walked up to me, raised his arms, and…

Pulled me into a massive bear hug. I’ve mentioned before that he doesn’t appear to be in the best shape. Did I mention he’s also strong as an ox?

He let me go so I could get some air and said, “Where the hell have you been?! We were going nuts wondering if you’d been kidnapped or something!” He pushed me toward the table.

Before I could sit, Will was up and giving me a friendly hug, too. Then it was Jaime’s turn. That one lasted a little longer than I may have been comfortable with, but, then again, I wasn’t complaining, either.

We all sat down, and Will said, “Now, then. What’s this cock’n’bull story about you staying at Adrovan’s tower for four days?”