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what are you going to do?”
    “I don’t know.” He grinned at Leonard. “Become a bartender maybe?”
    “Right,” Leonard said. “From investment banker to bartender. That’s moving up in the world.”
    Robbie put the rum and coke down in front of Ben. “Congratulations. This one’s on me.”
    “Hell no,” said Ben. “Tonight, I’m buying you guys a drink.”
    Leonard went to pour himself a Scotch.
    “Thank you, Ben,” Robbie said, “but I’m sticking to water tonight.”
    “Cute little Robbie,” he said. “We’ve missed you.”
    Her throat tightened up. She wondered who “we” referred to. She used to hang out with Jeremy and his friends all the time and it had meant a lot to her.
    When Robbie was growing up, her mom was often sick and Robbie had chosen to be with her when she could, rather than go out with school friends. Robbie hadn’t known how nice it was to be part of a group.
    “So, what’s up?” Ben said, taking a sip of his drink. “Still dating that asshole?”
    “Brett’s not an asshole,” Robbie said.
    “Come on, Robbie. I don’t get what you see in Mr. Trendsetter with his designer wardrobe.”
    Leonard brought his Scotch over and touched his glass against Ben’s as an unfamiliar customer came into the bar. The man stoodjust inside the doorway, blinking his eyes to adjust from the outside light to dimness. He looked like a boater in a loose sweatshirt, khakis, Docksiders, and a billed cap that read Bud N’ Mary’s, a marina down in the Keys.
    “So what do you think?” Ben asked Leonard as the man approached the bar. “Can you use someone else with an advanced degree? Robbie looks pretty happy and she was once a hard-ass, miserable CPA.”
    “I was never a hard-ass,” Robbie said.
    Mr. Bud N’ Mary hesitated as though deciding where to sit.
    “Fine,” Ben said. “Then former tight-ass, boring CPA.”
    “I was never boring.”
    “But tight-assed, am I right?”
    “Maybe a little.”
    “And now look at her,” Ben said. “Tending bar at one of the hottest bars in the world. That’s what I aspire to.”
    “Unfortunately, Ben,” Leonard said, “you don’t have her looks. Or charm.”
    Mr. Bud N’ Mary sat down at the far end of the bar away from Leonard and Ben.
    “Thanks for the compliments, guys, but you’ll have to excuse me. I have a real customer.”
    Robbie put a napkin down on the polished wood in front of the man. “What can I get you?”
    “A Heineken.”
    Robbie returned with the beer and set it in front of him. “Five dollars, please, or you can give me a credit card and I’ll run a tab.”
    He put a twenty down. He was probably in his mid- to late-thirties, average build, average everything. Brown eyes, tired face. He had a five o’clock shadow and a pink nose and forehead, as though from too much recent sun, and wore black, industrial-framed glasses. The lenses were dirty with what looked like sea spray.
    She lingered to see if he wanted to chat. “Are you from around here?” she asked, leaving his change on the bar.
    “Not exactly. I’ve got my boat docked at the Miami Beach Marina.” He turned to point south, then pulled his arm back, as though embarrassed. His shyness reminded her of someone. Her father.
    “Long walk from there to here,” she said.
    “Not so bad. I like walking.”
    He sipped his beer, glancing over at her from time to time, trying not to be obvious. Lots of guys tried to pick her up and Robbie had learned the art of being friendly without giving off the “available” vibes. She put a dish of salty snacks in front of him.
    “So you live on the boat?” she asked.
    “I wish.” He reached into the snack dish. No wedding ring, black hairs on the back of his fingers, and something odd. His fingernails were perfect, as though they’d been manicured. “I try to get down to South Beach as often as I can. It’s never as often as I’d like.”
    She sensed he was lonely. Her father had seemed lonely, too. She