He arrived early enough to choose any table and late enough in life to know that company is not automatically an improvement. Reserved Seating has ordered one drink, dismissed two conversations, and left the empty chair available only to someone worth disturbing the peace.

Solitude becomes something different once it is chosen. It is no longer evidence that nobody came; it is proof that presence has standards. He is not waiting to be rescued from the quiet—he has finally learned how to enjoy his own.