The key to mostly anything is pretending your first time *isn't*. - Jonathan Lethem

The restaurant, Bongiorno's, was bad and didn't know it. Everything was presented with a passive-aggressive flourish, as though we probably weren't savvy enough to appreciate the oregano-heavy garlic bread, the individual bowls for olive pits, the starched napkins stuffed into our wineglasses, or the waiter's strained enunciation of a long list of specials.

He allowed himself to feel that his stubbornness was courage. Maybe it was.

The whole state of Maine is unlocked.