“He’s my brother from another mother,” Cap said.

“Must be nice,” Humphrey replied, a faraway look in his eyes. “Don’t have brothers or sisters. One of me was too much. Listen, dropped off meds. You want nurse bring you some? Nurses on ortho like me.”

“You da man, Humphrey,” Cap replied. “Thanks. If they have something in addition to the IV pump, I’ll take ’em. The leg is starting to really throb.”

Humphrey motored out while Lou pulled up a chair to replace him at Cap’s eye level.

“So what’s my future looking like, boss?” Cap asked. “How long will I be here?”

“Not sure. This was big-time surgery you had. It may be too early for them to know, but I promise, Cap, in time you’ll be bouncing around the ring again. Speaking of ring, is there anybody you want me to call? Anybody at Stick and Move we should notify?”

Cap bit at his lip and looked away.

“I have Eddie Foster watching it for me, but I really can’t afford to pay him for long. Fact is, I been operating right on the edge of red for a while. I only decided to take this trip because it was you and I hadn’t been out of D.C in like forever.”

Lou felt himself shrink inside. He remembered the cold, misty rain and Cap’s suggestion that they do the gym instead of a trail run. Then he realized Cap had turned back from the window and was studying him.

“You’re blaming yourself for this, aren’t you, Welcome?”

“It was my idea to run.”

“Yeah? Well, get that notion right out of your head. I’m a big boy, bro. I make my own big-boy decisions and I own the outcomes of my actions. This ain’t on you or on me. This was an accident, a crappy, rotten, nothing but damn bad-luck accident, and nothing more. So if I catch you on the pity potty, I’m gonna break your leg just so you can feel better about yourself. Comprende?”

Lou managed a half smile.

“Loud and clear,” he said.

They talked some about managing Stick and Move in Cap’s absence. All of his good work in the community over the years had earned him the loyalty of everyone who knew him. But these were not people who could afford to work very long without being paid. Still, this was enough of a tragedy already without losing the gym. There would be a way.

“So what’s happened since I’ve been decommissioned?” Cap asked.

“Let’s see…” Lou pretended he had to think hard to come up with the biggest developments. “Um … Filstrup lost the election.”

Cap made an “aw shucks” clicking sound with his mouth.

“That’s too bad, but expected. Was it close?”

“I don’t know,” Lou said. “I sort of missed the whole thing.”