"Told you," he says, shifting a little uncomfortably, because he didn't have to and he knows it. "I wanted to."

He can't quite find the words, but again he thinks of an anchor, something solid to hold onto, something more than just words he'll say and be wrong about later. Bringing the future into focus by laying down a landing strip on it, making it real. And maybe it's as much about him as it is about Neil.

"We should go," he adds, glancing back up at the sky, at the lowering cloud. "Looks like it's gonna open up any minute."