The two characters in question are Marcus, who is twelve years old, but does not behave as one would expect a boy of his age to, and Will, who is thirty-six years old, and at the time of meeting Marcus is pretending to be a single father. Marcus is shown to be inquisitive and articulate, two aspects of his character which are collective with his deep thinking ` ", They're better than the ones we had in Cambridge, aren't they"" said Marcus cheerfully. It wasn't true: it was the same pizza company, but in Cambridge the pizzas hadn't had to travel so far, so they weren't as soggy. It was just that he thought he ought to say something optimistic."

The qualities shown by Will are in sharp contrast with those of Marcus. Though Will is much older than Marcus he is superficial, naïve and his curiosity pales in...