The food had its usual sobering effect when combined with alcohol. The conversation changed to other things: old acquaintances from back home in Montana, their kids, (Seth had two), and grandkids, (Mack had four). Seth told of his job as a surveyor for an oil company back in Billings, where he now lived. Seth asked questions about New York and how it was that a stud cowboy like Mack MacIntyre had survived all these years in a concrete forest. (“Hell, they plant mosta the trees on top a the buildin’s! What’s goin’ on with that?”)
When it was time to go, Seth insisted on paying and over-tipped Andreas to the extent that even the waiter felt compelled to admit it was way too much. In the end the sexy young man accepted the overblown gratuity and gave Seth a big bear hug in order to even it o
