Illusive Happiness (Denny)

As he listened to the two voices he was so attached to and thought back to the afternoon, the striking of the clocks, the easy, pleasant company, the walk around the shore, with a rush of feeling he felt that this must be happiness. As soon as the thought came to him, he fought it back, blaming the whiskey. The very idea was as dangerous as presumptive speech: happiness could not be sought or worried into being, or even fully grasped; it should ne allowed its own slow pace so that it passes unnoticed, if it ever comes at all.

from That They May Face the Rising Sun by John McGahern