Camp was late for our weekly brew chat because he is busy at the store, probably tallying up the accounts for the end of the year. This is of course the time of year when running a bookstore is actually rewarding in more than in just an esoteric sense; he’s actually making some money since books are still the best of all presents. 

            Now that a new year has started, we all want it to be better than the last one. A wishful fantasy at best. It started with a tragedy in the Swiss Alps when a night club erupted into an inferno at 1:30AM, killing at least 40 people and injuring 115 others. Unimaginable. I was shaking my head in disbelieve when I read the awful news.        

I was pawing through my emails when Camp walked in, shook off his rain-soaked jacket and plunked into his chair.

‘Good year at the store?’

            ‘Yes and no. Not as good as previous years but still better than a kick in the pants. Heard about that awful fire in Switzerland. A catastrophic heartbreak.’

            We both sat in silence for a minute, finding no words. 

            Finally, Camp broke the silence.