Fifteen minutes later, they were in the Falconry, a gay bar over by Providence College. The place was bathed in red light, and the bass of club music pulsed through it. It wasn’t horribly loud, or that crowded, though Radley said by midnight, the place would be packed.

They took a seat in a booth, which was spacious and comfortable. The waiter came over. “Drinks, gentlemen?”

“I’ll have the watermelon mojito,” Radley said. “Joshua? What would you like? Drinks on me, since you protected my honor. Dinner, too, if you’re hungry.”

He started to say he didn’t drink, then changed his mind. “Same,” he said.

“Are you hungry?”

“No, I’m fine.”

“Nachos, then,” Radley told the server. “They’re fantastic here,” he said to Josh. “You won’t regret it.”

It was so strange, being out with someone he didn’t know. In a gay bar, no less. After a fight. He couldn’t wait to tell—

Nope. He didn’t get to tell Lauren these things anymore.

Too bad. She would’ve loved this story.

Radley settled back and looked at Josh. His blue eyes were very kind. “So. Tell me about your wife.”

An unexpectedly direct order. Josh took a breath and let it out slowly. “Um . . . her name was Lauren. She had . . .” How much did Radley want to know? He wasn’t good at reading people. “She was diagnosed with a terminal illness about a year after we got married.”

“I’m so sorry. She was the love of your life?”

“Yes.” It felt oddly good to acknowledge that.

“I bet you two were the cutest couple ever.”

Josh pulled out his phone and brought up a picture of them on their wedding day and showed it to Radley.

“Oh, my God, she’s a Disney princess.” He stared at the phone. “You look super happy.”

“We were.”

The drinks came, and Josh took his first ever sip of alcohol. The drink was minty and sweet and went down easily. There was a slight, not-unpleasant burn in his throat, which must have been whatever alcohol was in a mojito.

“So, uh . . .” Josh said. Lauren was always the one who initiated conversation. What would she say? “Tell me about yourself, Radley. Is that your first name?”

“Yes. Radley Beauchamp. And my parents were shocked that I was gay. I told them if they’d named me Joe, I’d be an ironworker with a wife and four kids by now.” He laughed, and Josh smiled obligingly. “Not much to tell, really. I work at Banana Republic, I have two sisters, I grew up in rural Maine and I’m going to school part-time to become a licensed therapist.”

“No wonder you were so good in the store. Thank you for that.” To hide his embarrassment, he took a long sip of his drink. Really tasty.