The drinks arrived and the world got a little rosier, a little more full of wonder, and a little more of a place where two people with a long and fraught past, could, for a moment, put down their weapons and be friends.

Kenneth, our beer-bellied and bearded karaoke host with the most, stepped up on the small stage and announced sign-ups were open. Priya, Arkady, and I hustled to get the first slots.

Autumn elbowed me with no remorse whatsoever and ripped the pen out of my ...