“Listen up! This might be our only chance in a while to take a shower and get clean. I want each of you to shower, wash your hair, and get some clean clothes. These people have a kid who is ten years old, but he’s a big kid, so I’m thinking his clothes will fit most of you. Bundle up your rags and shoes and bring everything back here to the kitchen. There are four bathrooms upstairs, and there’s a shower somewhere off this kitchen. That makes five. Get moving, and scrub till your skin is raw. Hang up your towels!”

Miggy could feel his jaw drop. Hang up your towels!

Alonzo looked at his friend. “It’s a long and complicated story. Just goddamn do it, okay?”

“Sure, boss, if you say so. No problem,” Miggy said quietly.

“By the time it’s our turn, all the hot water will be gone,” Miggy complained.

“No, it won’t. They have limitless hot water. I saw the gizmo next to the power box. I saw them advertised on TV, and even if the power goes out, which just happened, it has its own power source or something, and the water stays hot. The guy hawking it just called it Endless Heaven in a Shower! Let’s see if there’s any good food here.”

Miggy opened the refrigerator and gawked at the array of food inside. A ham, a whole roasted chicken under plastic wrap, a bowl of spaghetti and meatballs. The bins held fruits, vegetables, and cheese of all kinds. Bottles of imported beer and Coca-Cola filled one entire shelf.

A feast that would have to be eaten cold, but still a feast. Both men dug in and shoveled the food into their mouths as fast as they could and washed it down with the imported beer.

Alonzo let loose with a loud belch that could be heard all over the house. “That was better than any food at a five-star restaurant, even if it was cold. Damn, that was good!”

Miggy agreed as he let his mind wander to the beds in this fine house. He wondered if the Crickets slept on silk sheets. He might not get to sleep on them, but he could at least feel them. He could hardly wait for his turn to go upstairs to check it out.

“Al, how is it you know so much about this house and the Crickets?” Miggy asked, as Alonzo pawed through a stack of mail on the kitchen counter.