As the band struck up another cover classic and the gentle, partial buzz that he was nursing was amplified by the company and the sing-along spirit in the bar he felt himself let go and really experience the lyrics to song after song of timeless classics that he was in now way ashamed to have on his iPod.
It was only as the set got deeper and deeper into nostalgia and cliché that he started to veer away from the feel-good vibe and start to focus on the person who was not there. He had tried to drive her from his mind before he even left on holiday, but now, in the midst of a good time the only thing that he saw when he closed his eyes was her face, and more to the point the only thing that he could think was that more than anything he wished that she was there.
He knew in his heart that she was never going to be with him on trips like this or in fact in any way other than the friendship that they already had. Why could he not simply enjoy the fact that they had a connection? Why was context, as ever, king?