Chapter 15

“This is a nice little house, Chris,” Irv said.

“Yes, it is, and it fits me perfectly.”

“Where did you find all this furniture?”

“One of my new buddies knows where several good used furniture stores are located. We used his utility trailer to pick up the furniture, and he and his partner helped me set everything up. I looked at stuff in a couple of low-end furniture outlets, but finally decided that used was the way to go.”

“Just how many people have you met, anyhow?”

“I met Quentin and his partner Nate at a restaurant. He has a pony car, but it’s a lot newer than mine and it has an even newer interceptor engine in it. Through them, I met Tom and Noah, who own this house, and three or four other couples. It’s all happened so quickly that I’ve sort of lost track.”

“Way to go, Chris.”

“Yeah. It’s close to suppertime—are you hungry?”

“The chips will hold me for a while.”

“Okay. I’m just trying to be a good host. Don’t want my first guest to starve.”