And then he’d put a ten down on the bar and go back out to his van and his house, and he’d see the back of Annie’s neck as she bent over a stew pot on the stove, and he’d think to himself, This is what those younger guys at that table are looking for. You just don’t know you’re looking for it until you have it, until you drive to the jewelry store in Belmont and buy the biggest solitaire you can manage, and circle back and kneel down and say, “This is me, on board.”
