At first the silence is comfortable: I have my beer, he has his beer. He has the Padres, I have a couple of adorably dorky senior citizens cutting a rug on the dance floor. But when they go sit down at their table, I feel the weight of the silence at ours. I don’t have the sense that Finn asked me to come out so he could sit and watch baseball alone.

“So, is Oliver working tonight?”

He doesn’t seem to hear me.

“Do you want me to order us some food? I’m starving.”

Again, he seems completely lost in thought. The music is pretty loud, but it’s not like I’m whispering. Hello, I never whisper.

“I think I’m going to go over to the music booth and see if Kyle wants to get freaky on the dance floor with me.” Nothing. “Maybe bang him on the bar. Or maybe a little action in the back room.” I lean toward him. “And obviously ‘back room’ is a euphemism.”

“Hey now,” Finn says, pulling his eyes from the television. Finally, a reaction.

“Okay, so what’s going on?” I ask him. “If you wanted a quiet beer session you could have brought Oliver.”

“I just wanted to think.”

“And that you could do alone, or on a run on the beach. So clearly you need to talk. Do you need a sounding board, or a brick wall?”

Finn looks at me like he has no idea what I’m talking about.

“Do you need me to help you think something through,” I clarify, “or do you just want to talk it out without interruption?”

“Are you capable of that?”

My face right now. “In fact, I am.”

Finn rises from the table, holding out his hand when I start to protest. “I’m going to explain. I want to talk it out, no interruption. I just need another beer first. Or three.”

He starts to walk away so I call out, “Have Mr. Furley bring me some tater tots, too.”

FINN IS ALMOST half done with his second beer when he finally starts talking. “When I said I was here on business, I was telling the truth. I know it sounds weird, because our entire tiny business is centered up on Vancouver Island.”

I nod, inexplicably giddy to learn why he’s staying in San Diego for so long. I feel sort of special that he’s talking to me about this, but I absolutely don’t let that show. I am poker-facing it like a champ.