Liza speed walked through the supermarket with Michael’s list.  It was good to be shopping for more people than just herself.  She felt compelled to buy things other than peanut butter and beer.  That reminded her, she needed to stop at the liquor store on the way home for Michael’s Bird Dog.

She was uneasy about contributing to his habit, but she wasn’t naive enough to think that she could stop him.  Anyway, he had done more housework in the past few days than Alice, Tony, and Mr. Belvedere put together, and he was cooking Christmas dinner.

Liza had come to enjoy Michael’s presence in the house, smoking and muttering included.  If Jake was the brother she never had, Michael was her long-lost father.  John had been nice, but they weren’t close.  He was just there, like the sofa or refrigerator.  But Bruce was different from anything.  There was nothing to compare him to.