The older a good whisky aged, the better it became. That was true of some things, and on a good day Gavin felt like it applied to him as well. In a world where he'd buried just about all his contemporaries, here he was sitting with a head full of grey hairs. He had a wife and two kids that were beautiful, talented, and passionate.

He also had an empty glass.

Gavin frowned as he got the bartender's attention. After another round was poured for him and Neil, he overheard two young goombas behind him.

"Hey... you see that guy at the bar?"

Gavin smirked. He'd let them go for a little bit, then he'd go say hello. Buy them a round, maybe.

"The one with the grey hair?"

Well, they could have picked another feature to...

"Yea. That's Gavin Byrne."

Gavin prepared a couple wisecracks, but quickly froze at the next comment.

"Who's that?"

Are you...

"Bella Byrne's husband."

... fucking kidding me?

He glared at Neil, who was looking down and laughing.

"Not funny, Neil."

Gavin sighed. He didn't regret walking away. He'd changed his life, and there'd been some dangers in it. He'd lost a step. Or three. His relationship with Bella had needed some tune ups. But he'd been there for his kids, every damn day of the week. He'd helped shape Aurora into one of the most talented fighters on the East Coast, and he slept easy knowing she could defend herself. His son, well, he'd taught him how to play cards and how to read people. He'd helped shape them. 

But... maybe they didn't really need him now in the same way. When they were real little, they needed him constantly for small things. Play with me. Go to the park. Let's have a snack. Read this book. As they got older, they didn't need him less overall... they just needed him less frequently. Instead of constantly needing him for small situations, they'd moved to rarely needing him for large situations. 

And shit, he had more time on his hands than ever. Who wanted to play poker at 2pm on a Tuesday?

Gavin threw back his whisky and slammed the glass on the bar.

"Neil. Call my wife. Tell her that Gavin Byrne is fucking back."

Neil just sighed and shook his head.

"Right. I'll tell her myself. Bartender, bring me another whisky. And a phone."