Across from the kitchen was the space allotted for the living room. One wall held only a modest entertainment unit, and atop it was an unpretentious flat-screen TV, and stationed in front of that were two overstuffed, caramel-colored recliners. An old trunk acted as the coffee table, and between the seating was another storage unit with racks for magazines on one side and cubbies down the front.

Ruby’s old apartment had been enormous compared to this one, so she had to sell everything she owned and downsize. Doreen had gone with her on the shopping trips looking for just the right piece, and at the time, Doreen couldn’t imagine how a dark walnut bedframe would work with a gray end table or a natural pine island in a kitchen with cabinets of honey oak. But again, Ruby had made it work.

The all-the-rage faux wood flooring the landlord had installed was a blend of light and dark, and it was those colors Ruby had pulled into the room by using various shades on her furniture. Given the low ceilings, other than painting the far back wall of her apartment a pale sage green, Ruby had left the rest of the walls white, adding color where she could. The drapes framing the two slender windows were forest green, and the patchwork quilt bedspread held almost every color of the rainbow. With the addition of two beige area rugs in the bedroom and living room, even though the apartment was minuscule, it was something to behold.

“So, since we have thirty minutes to waste, how about we waste them on your neighbor?” Doreen said, plopping into the chair she always used while Ruby dropped into the other.

“What neighbor?” Ruby said, placing her beer bottle on the table between them.

“The long-legged dream we passed on the stairs.”

Ruby huffed out a breath. “I told you, she won’t give me the time of day. There’s nothing to talk about.”

“Sure there is. What’s her name?”

“Archer.”

“That’s a cool first name.”

“I agree, except that’s her last name,” Ruby said, falling back in her chair. “I don’t know her first.”

“Why not?”

Ruby scrunched up her face. “Because I just told you, she won’t give me the time of day. Geez.”

“Then how’d you know her last name?”

“It’s on her mailbox.”

Doreen displayed the toothiest of grins. “So, you checked out her mailbox, did you? What else did you check out?”

“Her mailbox is right next to mine, and as for what else I checked out, come on. Give me a break. She’s good-looking, and I’m gay. Of course, I checked her out.”

“And?” Doreen said, leaning toward Ruby.