Our final exchange took place in a much quieter setting. We met for drinks after attending the opening of his daughter Kathleen’s photography show. There he confided in me that he was having second thoughts about his position on the possibility of an afterlife. His somewhat wistful consideration of my point of view left me feeling uneasy. I sensed that regret and resignation that occurs when men begin to face their own mortality. We ended our evening in typical fashion – a warm embrace and a promise to continue sparring at some later date.

There have been some late nights when I thought that Tom might rattle a glass or give a gentle nudge just to validate my intuitions. Presently though I can only take comfort in the fact that his caring nature, keen intellect, good humor and irrepressible spirit endures in the lives of his children. But I continue to trust in that moment at some future after-hours gathering of cherished souls where I will look up and see my friend at the end of the bar.