Murph saw Cole’s reaction, laughed, and pulled a stool up at the bar. Cole followed and the old man behind the bar brought them a plate of green olives and peanuts. They both drank rum punch and snacked on the peanuts for an hour or so, still swapping stories about wild nights, women, and the places they’d been. It was almost midnight when they turned in. Murph set off down towards his room and Cole found a sign pointing him to the left and down an open-air walkway to the end. To his left was a steep rock embankment covered in small flowers and brush. To the right was a single row of rooms with the beach on the far side. He found his number on the last room on the right and walked in, not knowing what to expect.
Like he always did, he set the thermostat a few degrees lower and walked over
