“Dude, I’m not chomping on dead flesh, and that’s the end of it.”

“Drake,” he corrected.

She mopped up syrup with the last pancake. “Yeah, whatever. Can I get more coffee?”

“Of course.” He signaled the waitress and then asked, “Why are you so thin?”

“Why do you ask so many questions?”

“I’m interested in you,” he said simply.

“Uh-huh. Dude, you’re, like, twice my age.”

Yes, that was annoying. But it couldn’t be helped. “Stop calling me dude. And it’s probably not twice. I’ll be forty this year.”

“Oh.” She seemed surprised. “You look younger. I’m twenty-four.”

“You look younger, too. If I may ask, where are you staying?”

“There’s a shelter on Beacon Street,” she said without a trace of embarrassment. “I lost my job—the economy, you know—and couldn’t make rent, so I’ve been bouncing around a bit.”

“Is that how you fell in with the little gang that attacked me?”

“I didn’t know they were going to do that,” she said earnestly. “I thought it was just talk.”

“I believe you. What about your family?”

“Don’t have one.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s all right. I never really knew them. Like you—I guess—being by myself, it’s all I know.”

“Why don’t you stay with me for a while? I have a big house in Cambridge, and there’s plenty of room for a guest.”

She snorted into her coffee cup. “Right. Go home with the strange guy who showed up out of nowhere, who says he’s blind but doesn’t trip over anything. Not too creepy.”

“What’s the worst that could happen?”

“You could kill me in my sleep.”

He tried not to show offense. “That’s ridiculous. In your sleep? I would never.”

She laughed at him. “Oh, okay, so, we’ve established you won’t kill me in my sleep. That’s promising.”

“The homeless shelter is preferable to my home?”

“Well…no offense, dude…Drake, I mean…but put yourself in my shoes.”

“I understand. But consider this, you could have pancakes every morning,” he coaxed, “and all the coffee you could drink. Until you get back on your feet.”

She shook her head but look tempted. “Jeez, I can’t believe I’m even considering this. If this was a horror movie, I’d be yelling at the screen, ‘Don’t do it, you dumb bitch!’”

“That’s nice. I would really enjoy your company. I live a…solitary life. It would be nice to have a—a friend over.”