the waiting room was packed standing room only with Owen’s extended family, the entire guest list from his parents’ party—from sisters to cousins to friends called “uncle”—plus about fifty retired firefighters right out of Central Casting in their FD shirts and dad jeans. Friends of Big Robby’s, I supposed. I remember it now as a blur of navy-blue station shirts, overgrown mustaches, Dunkin’ Donuts cups, and cigarettes. Could you smoke in the hospital waiting room? No. Did those ornery old firefighters give a shit? Hell, no. The wives were all on one side of the room, sitting in chairs,
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