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wanted to see me again. Seeing him on my porch without shoes was as startling as bumping into your minister in the red-light district in Amsterdam.
    “Hubert, what are you doing here?”
    “I didn’t think you’d mind. You said to stop over anytime,” he said.
    “Yes, but I assumed you’d call first.” OK, my voice was kind of pissy, but jeez—I hadn’t seen the guy for months and suddenly he’s inside my house? “And how’d you get in, anyway? I had the door locked.”
    “I know. I’m sorry. I thought it would be OK.”
    Before I had a chance to interrogate him further, Officer Stein leaned over and put a fatherly hand on my shoulder. “Does he have permission to be in your house? Because if not, we can—”
    “No, no, it’s fine.”
    Behind me Myra muttered something to Brother Jasper that I thought sounded like “lovers’ spat.” One of the dogs whimpered loudly.
    “I can release him then?” Officer Dodge asked. Upon getting an affirmative reply, he loosened his grip. Hubert rubbed his left arm and did a few deep knee bends in appreciation of his new freedom. He smiled a lopsided grin, the right side of his mouth lifting higher than the left.
    Officer Stein apologized to Hubert. “We had to treat you as an intruder. We had no way of knowing you were the young lady’s friend.”
    Hubert brushed it off with a good-natured wave. “It’s OK. I understand. You guys were just doing your job.”
    I told them I was sorry for the false alarm.
    “It never hurts to check things out,” Brother Jasper said. “Better safe than sorry.”
    “We prefer this kind of outcome, actually,” Officer Stein said, and his partner nodded in agreement. What an incredibly affable group.
    I wasn’t sure what the protocol was in this type of situation, so I introduced Hubert to the sidewalk gathering as if we were at a cocktail party. Hubert, always a social guy, explained that he came to my house because he got locked out of his own, and then he went on to compliment Belinda’s dogs and the neighborhood in general.
    “You won’t find a better block anywhere in the city,” Myra said.
    Hubert looked around appreciatively. “I can see that.”
    “You couldn’t pay me a million dollars to live anywhere but here,” she added for emphasis.
    I followed Brother Jasper across the street as he accompanied the officers to their squad car. I felt compelled to apologize one last time. “I’m so embarrassed that you had to come all the way here,” I said. “I had no idea it was my friend inside. I don’t even know how he got in.”
    “He said he used the key hidden on the porch under the planter,” Officer Dodge said.
    “Ah yes, the hidden key,” Brother Jasper said. “I’d forgotten about that.” This was the first I’d heard of it.
    “I hope your night gets better, miss,” Officer Dodge said before climbing into the passenger side. I wasn’t sure if he was mocking me or being genuinely friendly.
    Officer Stein shook Brother Jasper’s hand. “Good night, sir. Take care.”
    Brother Jasper held up one hand like delivering a blessing. “Good night and stay safe.”

CHAPTER THREE
     
    A fter the squad car pulled away, I said goodnight to Brother Jasper and left him fumbling in his shirt pocket for his pack of Marlboros. Probably going to smoke his last last cigarette of the night.
    Hubert and company were still chatting in front of my house. Myra and Belinda and the canines were charmed by him, I could tell. He’d had that effect on everyone for as long as I’d known him. He was a big, goofy-looking guy who possessed as much curiosity as a preschooler. Hubert could spend hours listening to someone talk about their job or dog or years spent in the military. And he was genuinely interested, not just being polite. He always remembered names, and he had perfect recall of past events. “Remember the year neither of us went to prom so we went to a movie instead?” he once asked.
    “Hubert, I never went to