The second star of the night winked into view as the sky darkened a fraction more. Technically, it was the first star that was an actual star, but who cares. Venus looks like a star from Earth so whatever. 

But I still stuck around, as usual, as Arcturus showed up in its usual spot. It’d be stupid to ignore the possibility. 

The possibility. Yeah, right. Man, I was a moron. But thirty-five years is a long streak. And stars came out every night. 

Of course, people always get a real kick ...