“Oh good to know I have cynical ugliness to look forward to in my old age,” Neil teases smartly. It’s easy to smile around Harry, to find the good humor in it. It’s nice to smile, with some space between the heartache of losing Goodnight and Billy Rocks and this evening, better than he expected.

Their food comes and Neil, who’s been sipping his drink steadily, orders a second one—heavy on the scotch.