She was slender and possessed a look that hinted of past beauty. Dark hair fell to the middle of her back and was, on most days, in a state of disarray as though she’d rolled right out of bed and straight into her clothes. Through our conversations I’d learned that she’d been single for five years after the dissolution of her last marriage to a man ten years her senior who could no longer hold an erection, which was apparently the final nail in the proverbial coffin. Her daughter, her only child from her first husband, was a junior in a college downstate. I continually joked with Linda to let me know the next time she came home on break.

“So you’re moving in tonight?”

“Yes, and thank Christ, too. I don’t think I can survive another minute in my current situation.”

The corner of her mouth lifted into a wry grin. “A passive-aggressive roommate who sleeps in a separate room? Sounds like the last three years of my second marriage.”

I laughed. “It’s pretty sad that I actually look forward to coming to this place to get away from it all.”

“That is pretty sad,” she agreed.

The day inched by and when it finally ended I literally ran to the train, took it to Belmont, and sprinted several blocks to Gene’s. I was guaranteed the place but I couldn’t relax until the keys were physically in my hand.

“Stratton, my boy, how are you?”

“Going to be awesome in about a half hour when I’m officially moved in.”

I counted out the $250 as we climbed the stairs. I handed it to Gene and he promptly folded the money in half and slipped the bills into his front shirt pocket. That left me with only $161 for the next two weeks, which put me right back in the tight spot I’d been living in, but not even that bothered me when Gene tossed me the keys and allowed me to unlock the door myself. The apartment had been cleaned from floor to ceiling, the walls painted white, the hole at the back plastered over. Even the desk had been dusted and there was now an office chair on wheels to go with it.

“Kick-ass,” I said. “You’re the man, Gene.”

“Nah, just an asshole who has his moments. And besides, I told you I’d whip it into shape before you moved in.”