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toward the living area.
    I shrugged and turned toward Aidan.
    “Now, for the grand tour,” he said. “On your right you will notice the lavishly furnished living area. If you turn to your left, you will enter the large and spacious kitchen complete with all the gourmet accouterments one could ever desire. Julia Child, eat your heart out.”
    I laughed since the kitchen was barely large enough for the both of us. A built-in table and the three chairs around it took up most of the space.
    “Small, but functional,” I said helpfully.
    Aidan narrowed his eyes. “Have you been talking to my real estate agent?”
    I laughed again and Aidan motioned me back into the living room.
    “As we continue with the guided tour we will now be going through the door just to the right of the kitchen door which, as you will see, leads to this marvelous hallway.” He switched now to a game show host voice.
    “Well, Will, what will it be. Door Number One? Or maybe you’d like to try Door Number Two? Or how about trying your luck with Door Number Three?”
    15

    JOSH ATEROVIS
    Three doors opened off the hallway, one straight ahead, and one each on the left and right.
    “Can I use a lifeline?” I ventured.
    “Do I look like Regis?”
    “Um…no…let’s try for Door Number Two.”
    “Oh, jeez, Will. I’m sorry, but you chose the bathroom.
    But we have some lovely parting gifts, don’t we, Jimmy?” He dropped his voice an octave and boomed,
    “That’s right, Aidan. We’ll be sending Will home with a lifetime supply of Charmin. It’s squeezably soft.”
    I laughed so hard I snorted, which of course caused my face to begin to burn. I imagined I must have been pretty close to the color of a tomato. Aidan acted as if I hadn’t just made a rude porcine noise and went on with his game show host shtick.
    “But the game’s not over yet. Try again, Will.”
    “Door Number Three.”
    “Excellent choice,” he said as he swung open the door,
    “and may I just say that is a lovely shade of red you are wearing. Very flattering.”
    The room we walked into now was apparently Aidan’s bedroom and it was huge. It held a double bed, two dressers, a computer desk outfitted with a brand new computer, and an open closet full of clothes...and there was still room to spare.
    “If you decide to be my roomie, your room will be across the hall,” Aidan said in his normal voice. He opened that door and I stepped in expecting a copy of the room I had just seen. I was surprised to find it was half the size and stacked to the ceiling with boxes.
    “I, uh, haven’t finished unpacking yet,” he said sheepishly. “I know this room is smaller, but I needed the extra space for my computer desk. And to make it fair 16

    REAP THE WHIRLWIND
    you would only have to pay a third of the rent instead of half.”
    “Are you sure you can afford that?” I asked automatically.
    “Oh, money’s not really a problem. That’s not why I wanted a roommate; it’s more for company. I’m from a big family and it’s weird going from that to living by myself. I thought I could offset the culture shock some by having someone else live here; I mean I have the extra room so it made sense. Not that I’m expecting you, or whoever moves in, to be my best bud or anything. I know you and Joey are really tight, but it’ll just be nice having someone else here. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, there is a bonus to having the smaller room. Check this out.”
    He shoved boxes aside until he had cleared a path to the window. I followed him and looked out. I had to give it to him; the view was spectacular. The window overlooked the river, the lights from the apartment building sparkling and dancing across its black surface.
    An iron fire escape just outside the window formed a sort of balcony that would be awesome on a summer night.
    “I guess we should get back to the party before they think we ditched them,” Aidan said after a moment.
    “Do you have a boat?” I asked him, still looking out the window. I was reluctant to leave the scene and