" Negronis, cigarettes snuck. What could he do? His friend had begged him to come up, and the now-muted city would be more depressing still. “So who else is coming?” Ed asked. “Besides the Exalted One.” He was referring to the famous actor who was coming up for a few days to work on a screenplay with Senderovsky, the source of his friend’s anxiety. “Karen, you said.” “Vinod, too.” “Haven’t seen him in ages. Is "

― Gary Shteyngart , Our Country Friends