"The present tense made him nervous"

*(HER): Case knows what she’s talking about. It appears that working with the dead is a common idea to both characters. Molly’s question remains mysterious – no hints are given by Case’s response.
**(SEM): “The present tense made him nervous.” Is it the present tense that is making him nervous, or is it the implication of “doing” making him nervous? Is Case doubting his skills as a cowboy, or is he merely worried he’s rusty after all this time? It’s not the present tense, but what the present tense represents. At the beginning of the book Case is living in the past; he frequents cowboy bars and leads a faded existence. That was, for as long as he was out of commission, his present tense. Knowing what he can do and doing are separate, and Case’s apprehension is showing this to us. But this also begs the question, what exactly is Case nervous about? It’s clearly not working with “the dead” – that idea created a positive response. It’s something else, something we’re not all that familiar with. We have no idea what exactly it is that Case does or why a mysterious employer summoned him. This present tense carries a heavy, unrevealed weight.
***(PRO): “He watched his reflection in her glasses.” Case is attempting to make eye contact, but cannot. He can only see his reflection in her “eyes”.
****(PRO): “made him nervous.” Case’s feelings are a result of his uncertainty about a skill that has yet to be defined.