[He kind of starts a little at the shoulder pat. People are usually too afraid to touch Malcolm, much less give a comforting pat. And then, continuing in the talking-at vein, he keeps going.]

She called me, yeah? It's your fiftieth fucking birthday, she said, at least come home and have a nice dinner. Told her I didn't care whose fucking birthday it was. Spent the evening trying to unfuck that Murray-Mannion debacle. And Tom sent me a fucking cake. Know what it had on it? [He barely waits for a response.] "Happy Birthday C-Star-N-T." Fucker.

[Incidentally, Iroh might notice that Malcolm sports a wedding band on his left hand, from which Conclusions May Be Drawn.]