“I miss him,” Howard said bluntly. “I miss Bob.” He took a deep breath, then the words came out in a rush. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with my Saturdays anymore, you know? I don’t who I’m going to be able to ask for advice or give advice to or go places with or… Shit!”

And he began to cry.

After dinner, they sat on the porch. It was warm, humid, felt like rain. Bats, fluttering shadows of darkness, spun in and out of the illuminated circle generated by the streetlamp. From down the road came the harsh electric sounds of a bug zapper instantaneously frying its victims.

“We used to go bat fishing when we were little,” Doug said absently. “We would hook a leaf or something to fishing line and throw it up into the air next to a streetlight. The bats’ radar told them that it was a bug, so they’d dive for it. We never caught anything, but we came close a few times.” He chuckled. “I don’t know what we would’ve done if we’d’ve caught one.”

“You do stupid things when you’re little,” Howard said. “I remember we used to shoot cats with pellet guns. Not just cats that were wild or strays. Any cat.” He downed the last of his beer. “Now it’s hard for me to remember bein’ that cruel.”

They were silent for a while, too full and too tired to make the effort at conversation. In the east, above the ridge, lightning flashed, outlining billowy dark clouds. Like most summer storms, it would probably come at night and be gone by morning, leaving behind it a heaviness and humidity that would create a boom business at the air-conditioned movie theater and would send people running to the lakes and streams. They looked upward. The evening was moonless, and though there was obviously a storm approaching, the sky directly above them was an astronomer’s dream, filled with millions of pinprick stars.

Doug’s chair creaked as he shifted his weight, leaning forward. “Where’s, uh, John Smith tonight?” The name sounded ludicrous when spoken. “Is he at your house?”

“Don’t know.” The beer must have loosened his tongue, for Howard shook his head, a vague movement in the darkness. “He’s usually not there this early, though. He goes out at night, but I don’t know where he goes or what he does. Some nights I don’t think he comes home at all.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Well, I been having a hard time sleeping lately. I’m real tired, but I can’t fall asleep.”

“That’s understandable,” Tritia said.