"What does a writer need most?" I asked.
"A pen," I offered, before he could answer.
Oscar looked at me with the patience of someone who has spent a lifetime surrounded by people saying the wrong things with great confidence.
"No."
"Words, then."
He set down his glass. He adjusted himself in the chair as though the subject deserved better posture.
"What a writer needs, Max," he said, "is an audience."