Dan isn't bothered by the curtness at all. After all, he's the one interrupting.

"It's the right time of year for that, ain't it? The ghosts always start coming out around the Equinox and then they just keep coming." Because after the Equinox is all the celebrations of the dead, and after that are the winter holidays. The finals months of the year are rife with reminders of loss and bereavement.

He gets out his rulers and chalk and starts to mark up one of the planks of balsam wood in front of him. Where Miguel's left ill-tempered, Dan's finding his zen in the ratios and angles and planning for another puzzle box. He thinks about the time of year. He thinks about what Miguel just said.

"Me too, honestly. There were a few years I was celebrating Day of the Dead with someone." Because that was something Ellie liked to do; that was part of the culture she brought into his life, alongside so many other things. "I ain't sure how to approach now that I'm solo."

He may be married, but compared to his tight, us-against-the-world, only-have-each-other bond with Ellie, he feels so alone in some respects.