" At one point Jo excused herself to go powder her nose, a euphemism since she never wore makeup. Erik bowed as she left the table, then sat back down, not noticing his necktie had draped across his plate. His eyes continued to follow Josie's egress as, taking up knife and fork he went about cutting his necktie into tiny bite-sized slices.
"How's yer steak?" asked J.
"It's a bit stringy," Erik confessed. "

― James Hold , Out of Texas 12 : The Iron Claw of Destiny, Part One