“I am cool,” Javier replied, wheezing from all the effort.

Virgil lowered the window.

“Mr Abernathy!” said Martha Galloway. “Good morning! I was just about to call by your place and check up on you!”

Virgil gave her a tight smile. “How good of you. It’s really not necessary, though.”

“Nonsense, nonsense!” she said, waving her hand. “Checking up on the elderly in the community is a privilege, not a burden. Oh! And you have a friend!” She leaned in to smile at Javier. “And what’s your name?”

Javier did nothing but scowl at her.

“Mrs Galloway, this is Javier,” said Virgil. “He’s a friend from back west.”

“Well, it is a pleasure to meet you, Javier!” said Mrs Galloway, sticking in her arm in a bid to shake his hand. Virgil pressed himself back into the seat to avoid contact with her blouse. The smell of wildflowers and fruit filled his nostrils.

Javier, meanwhile, was glaring at the proffered hand, and keeping his own appendages to himself.

“I get it, I get it,” Mrs Galloway said, retracting her arm and chuckling. “I’m the same way! I carry hand cleanser in my purse, wherever I go. Never know what kind of germs you might be picking up, am I right? Heaven knows, a common cold could kill someone of your age.”

Javier opened his mouth to snap off what would no doubt be a hurtful retort, but Virgil got there first.

“Javier’s thinking of investing in some property in the area,” he said. “We were driving around and this house leaped out as something he might be interested in buying.”

Mrs Galloway frowned slightly. “This house? Is it for sale?”

“Well, no, but for the right price it could be.”

“I doubt it. Mr Moreno owns the hardware store, on Appletree Street? I doubt he’d want to move.”

“Well, maybe we’ll ask him,” said Virgil. “Though we’d appreciate it if you kept this between ourselves.”

“Oh, of course,” said Mrs Galloway, putting on her serious face. It vanished a moment later, replaced by a smile. “So what are your plans for Wednesday, Mr Abernathy?”

“Going to stay with my daughter,” Virgil said.

“Oh, that’s wonderful! And can I just say that I really admire your determination to remain independent when so many other elderly people just choose to wilt and die in old folks’ homes. You are a hero to me, Mr Abernathy, you truly are. I hope that when I am your age, if I’m lucky enough to reach it, I am capable of showing the same moral fortitude as you. I’m fed up to the back teeth of lazy people who live in old folks’ homes and do nothing but drain our great country’s resources and leech from the system.”

“I live in a retirement home,” said Javier.

“How wonderful for you!” Mrs Galloway trilled. “And do they treat you nicely there?”