“They probably thought your blue blood couldn’t handle the cold.” Decker sighed inwardly. He had to make the offer to look like a good guy. “Come if you want.”

“Of course, I’ll come.”

“Take the car. I’ll meet you there in about a half hour.”

“I’ll walk with you, Old Man.”

“Harvard, it’s really cold outside. I’m doing it for religious reasons. No reason for you to suffer.”

“I’m not gonna let you outmacho me.”

“Suit yourself. Let me grab a few things and we’ll be on our way.”

“I’ll get your jacket, Tyler,” Rina said.

“Thanks.” McAdams jammed his hands into his pants pockets. His eyes were darting back and forth and he walked in itty-bitty circles. When Rina brought over his outerwear, he bundled up and then forced a smile. “Thank you for dinner. It was delicious.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Do you want some package warmers for your feet and hands?” Decker asked. “I’m taking some with me. No sense getting frostbite.”

“Yeah, sure.”

Decker gave a wave and he and the kid were off. The night was moonless with thousands of stars sprinkling the dark sky like salt on black velvet. Without the cloud cover, the temperature had dropped to the teens. No wind . . . just cold air and the mist of warm breath wafting through darkness.

McAdams said, “Thanks for dinner.”

“You’re welcome. It was my wife’s idea.”

“Yeah, I intuited that. She is a good cook. She’s also lovely . . . I mean personality.”

“She’s lovely all the way around. I’m very lucky.”

McAdams said, “You have a large family. I counted like seven different people my age in the various pictures.”

“Five kids, two spouses, twin grandsons, and a granddaughter.”

“Wow.” A pause. “I take it the black guy is a son-in-law? Or maybe you were married before.”

“I was married before, but not to Koby’s mother. He’s married to my elder daughter, Cindy, who’s a cop in Philadelphia. Koby is in medical school at the University of Pennsylvania. They have twin boys. The older two white boys are my stepsons. The girls are my biological daughters and the youngest kid is our foster son who’s been with us for the last four years. He is a classical pianist who just graduated from Juilliard.”

“Impressive. What do the other kids do?”

“Sam and his wife are both doctors. They have Lily. They live in Brooklyn. Jacob—the one who looks like Rina—just finished his Ph.D. in public policy. He’s still . . .” Decker laughed. “He’s still finding himself. My other daughter, Hannah, is in a Ph.D. program at the Ferkauf School of Psychology in New York.”

“Not bad . . . but no Crimson.”

“Yeah, you Harvard guys think that there’s only one school in the world.”

“No, we do accept Princeton or Yale. But that’s about it.”

Decker smiled. “What about yourself, McAdams?”