“What would you be talking about, the two of ye?” he asks.
The question startles Cal. “Like what?”
“That’s what I’m asking you. One way or t’other, I’ve never had much opportunity for conversation with women … What would a man be talking about with a woman?”
“Jeez, man,” Cal says. “I dunno.”
“I’m not asking you what sweet nothings you go whispering in her ear. I’m asking about conversation. What kind chats you’d be having over a cuppa tea, like.”
“Stuff,” says Cal. “Like I’d talk about with anyone. What do you talk about with the guys in the pub?”
“Stuff,” Mart acknowledges. “Fair point there, bucko.”
Tana French, The Hunter, p. 241
Out of Babel Books 
Off-topic, but — present tense?! (By the way, shouldn’t it be, “Stuff,” SAYS Cal?) With the exception of Presumed Innocent, I see present tense, I run the other way. : -)
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1) Good catch! “Said” is clearly a typo on my part. I will fix it, thanks.
2) Yeah, surprisingly, French’s books are in the present tense. I too don’t prefer it. That’s why I declined to read Wolf Hall, for example. Sometimes, a book is so well written that I don’t even realize it’s in present tense until I’m well into the story. French is such an amazing writer that the tense doesn’t bother me.
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Stuff. It’s what conversations are made of 😀
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… when they’re not about things.
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