"Half an hour. There should be enough for you to take for lunch tomorrow." It would save money. He preferred to save money. It seemed a precious and finite resource, one to be carefully saved and spent frugally. Prices seemed to have reached astronomical highs, but he'd adjusted - or he'd tried to. Two dollars still seemed expensive for a small meal.

But despite it, he said quietly, "If you want me to meet your mother, I'll try."