"Well, you know Rick. Hard for him to fit in old mates last minute these days."

His smile is ill-fitting. A bit too wide, a bit too insincere. Alvo always did have a flair for the poetic, and a frustratingly easy go of things after uni. It's brilliant that he's doing well, really. Brilliant that he's come round to share the wealth on the less fortunate.

"Cheers, yeah. Another for me," he says, tilting his spent pint glass. "You're, uh. You're doing well then? Things in ... where in Spain are you now?"