say；？ Chips declared； ？that all it takes to cure life？s woes is a bottle of good scotch and
the open sea。？ He chuckled and slapped the tabletop with one hand as if to punctuate his speech。
Nate nodded lamely as he leaned back in his chair； trying to get fortable。 He glanced around
the room。 He was the youngest person there by at least forty years？clusters of wizened old men
were gathered at every single oak table； each man gruffer and stonier than the next。 One of them
had an actual eye patch。 The old cyclops squinted in Nate？s direction with his one good eye。
Before Nate could start to muse on what terrible sailing accident had caused him to lose his
eyeball； the white…jacketed waiter returned and placed a glass of scotch in front of him。
？Thank you；？ he mumbled。
？Cheers； my boy。？ Chips lifted his tumbler and then took a huge swig。 Nate quickly followed suit；
gagging on the fiery amber liquid。 The scotch was freaking strong？stronger than anything he？d
ever had？and Chips was drinking it like lemonade。Whowas this guy？
？You？re nothing like what I thought；？ Nate blurted out； turning red and taking another small；
tentative nip。 From everything his dad had told him about Chips； Nate had thought he would be a
total hard…ass who？d give him lecture on getting his shit together the second he sat down。 But so
far Chips couldn？t have beenless like Nate？s father。 He seemed almostmellow。
？Ha！？ Chips laughed； slapping his stiff…looking extended leg。 ？You though you were going to be
meeting Captain White； didn？t you？ Some cantankerous； salt…waterlogged old geezer who would
read you the riot act？ Maybe a hook for an arm？ That it？？ Nate nodded； blushing。 He looke