Manfred accepted when Joe called him, for several reasons. Manfred loved meals he didn’t have to cook, he liked Joe and Chuy, and he understood that their main goal was to get Bobo out of his own place and encourage him to eat some hot food.

Manfred and his landlord walked west to the Antique Gallery and Nail Salon together, not talking much along the way, and Bobo showed Manfred the outside flight of stairs that led up to Joe and Chuy’s apartment. The building itself had been constructed long after Midnight Pawn, and as a result the ceilings weren’t as high, so the whole structure was shorter.

“I’m glad they can’t see in my windows,” Bobo said, and he almost laughed.

“Can you see down into theirs?”

“I can see a sliver of their kitchen, but that’s all,” Bobo said, knocking on the weathered wooden door.

“Come in, and welcome!” Joe said, standing aside. “I’ll take those jackets.” Manfred looked around him with some amazement. The apartment wasn’t large, but it looked amazing. The colors were attractive and harmonious, there were “window treatments,” and the furniture had not been picked up at a curb before the garbage men could toss it.

Manfred had to admit to himself that he had had no idea that men could make their surroundings look anything more than utilitarian. He was genuinely impressed, and at the same time he called himself an idiot for not realizing that two people who between them could price antiques and style hair and nails would know something about putting together a good-looking home. He did feel a little strange when the tour included their bedroom, where Rasta was curled in the middle of a paprika and turquoise bedspread.

After five minutes, Manfred forgot that Joe and Chuy were men who had sex with each other. Instead, he was able to revel in the happy discovery that Chuy was a very good cook and that Joe kept a stock of excellent beer in his refrigerator.

Even Bobo became more cheerful as the evening passed. He talked sports with Joe and raising peppers with Chuy. They talked about the Westminster Dog Show, the difficulties of getting into vet school (Chuy hadn’t managed it), and the pleasures and frustrations of buying on eBay. Chuy told them about his cousin Rose’s fling with the Home Shopping Network and how he’d brought Rose’s minister in to pray with her over her addiction.

The way Chuy talked about Rose made Manfred regret his lack of family.