Daniel returned to his seat and picked up his wine glass.

“To our early retirement,” he said.

I picked up my glass and clinked it against his.

I drank the red wine, letting the sharp metallic taste coat my tongue.

The gold chain felt heavy against my chest.

We ate the roasted artichokes while Daniel talked about a new consulting lead in Boulder.

He listed three different client names I had never heard before.

He described the specific software problems each one was having with their accounting systems.