"No one else has come up in conversation." Doc would not go into the details of their conversations - what happens on the porch or wherever they are using instead of the porch stays on the porch - but he can assure Malcolm of at least that.

The question posed is not one with an easy or direct answer, and though it is not his poison of choice he is thankful to have chamomile tea steaming away between his hands to buy him some time.

"Have you ever been in a relationship with an angry man, Malcolm? Or woman."