It’s your round by the way,” said Rufus.

Without a word, I pulled out the capacious hip-flask from my coat and poured a hefty belt of green liquid into each of our three empty shot glasses.

“What is it?” Ruby asked.

“It’s the green fairy,” I replied, “Also known as, the devil in a bottle, or if you’re one of those quaint types that insist on calling a spade a shovel, Absinthe.”

Meeting the green Man-Goat tonight reminded me that I had some.

“And just to cement our status as one big, happy family,” I grinned at the two blanched faces, “I decided that absinthe really would make the heart grow fonder.”

“Except in your case,” muttered Rufus under his breath.

I raised my glass and smiled.

“I’ll drink to that.”