[ and now irwin's doing the same, because it's a vaguely stressful situation and now that gene's brought that option to mind it's hard to think about anything else but the small relief of a smoke. he really should pace himself better than he has been, but it's a thin balance between cutting back too swiftly and not tapering off steeply enough.

it takes a few moments of thought and several re-reads of the conversation's latest message for wade to come up with anything. ]

Well, tell him he's right about needing to work together. Guys like that generally enjoy feeling like they're in the right. [ god knows he'd learned that much during his time dwelling with an excess of 18-year-olds in the military. ] Maybe tell him that he's welcome to come by in case something comes up. That we appreciate the offer, I guess.