Billy had wanted more than anything to disappear, but it would be rude to refuse a direct summons. Once there, the offered drink surprised him.

"Thank you," he said with a grateful nod. Sipping the concoction experimentally, he instantly verified the bartender's description. Slow and steady was the way to proceed.

Billy's attention turned to Peter then. "It was my dad's favorite music genre," he explained almost apologetically. "Every night, he played the songs on his antique record player. I asked him once why he overwhelmingly preferred songs with subject matter involving personal mistakes and lost opportunities, and he said I'd understand someday."