Chapter 16

I got home around seven, which was somewhat later than usual, and found Mike in the kitchen where I’d left him. This time, however, he was fully dressed and looked somewhat more human.

“Feeling better, I see.”

“Getting there,” he said.

“Still think it was worth it?”

“Oh, yeah. Definitely.”

“Have you eaten?”

“No.”

“Good, because I detoured by way of Lane Avenue and stopped by Lee’s Dragon.” I set bags of Chinese food on the table. “Sort this out while I change.”

I went to my room and pulled on a pair of cutoffs and a T-shirt. When I returned to the kitchen, Mike had divided the food between two plates and had poured a glass of wine for each of us.

We consumed the food in relative silence. Finally, he said, “Where’s your friend?”

“Gone.”

“Gone?”

“He had a gig somewhere downstate.”

“Will he be back?”

“I’ve no idea—it wasn’t a romance.”

“Ships passing in the night?”

“Something like that. At least it got me out of my funk. Now I can get on with life.”