I just blink at Mathias as he keeps letting everything loose and momentarily I debate sprinting back home and locking myself in the bedroom, subjected to Joe's new 'everything is wonderful' persona. "You realize you just keep saying things?" I ask in German, Joe's dialect leeching into my words. Maybe this is a language thing.

"Deep breath, Mathias. Remember how I had to pull teeth to get things out of you? What changed?"