*If the owner comes, I'll be sure to tell him you told me the rule.'

*You don't follow directions very well, do you?'

*That's putting it mildly.'

*I still think that's a silly name for a dog.'

*Well. I think Frosty Freeze is a silly name for your work. Because Frosty and Freeze both mean the same thing. It's like saying Wet Water.'

*You can think whatever you want about it, Strange Boy, but I didn't name the Frosty Freeze. I just work here. You named that dog yourself.'

*I guess you got a point,' Nat said.

*Can I take your order?'

*Yes. Thank you. I'd like a chocolate shake. I was training. You know. Working out. And I just got in the mood for a chocolate shake.'

*You get in the mood for a chocolate shake a lot, don't you?'

*Now why would you say that?'

*Kenny said you were here about three hours ago getting a chocolate shake-'

*I'm trying to put on weight. Trying to go from . . . To get up to welterweight.'

*. . . and asking about me.'

*Seemed rude to come by your work and not even say hello.'

To his dismay, Nat was unable to force his facial muscles not to smile. They insisted on contracting, like a muscle spasm, into just the type of idiot grin he was hoping to avoid.

*Hey, Freddy. Another chocolate shake for the bottomless pit.'

Nat glanced over his shoulder to see if anyone was waiting in line behind him. If he'd have to step away from the window. Nobody back there. He breathed again.

*So, Strange Boy, are you a boxer?'

*How'd you know that?' Proud and flattered. As if she had seen it just by looking.

*You said you were trying to get up to welterweight.'

*Oh. Right. Yes. I'm a boxer.'

*Is that what you do?'

*Well, it's not the only thing I do. But it will be. I mean, in the short run I'm having to hold down a day job. There's a lot involved with going pro. It's a serious business. But that's definitely where I'm going.'

*So, now I know everything about you-'

*Well, not-'

*. . . except your name.'

*Nat.'

*Like Nat King Cole.'

*Yes. Like Nat King Cole.'

*I love Nat King Cole. I know his music probably seems old-fashioned now. I mean, to most people our age. But he's my favorite crooner.'

Not two weeks earlier, if anybody had told Nat they had a favorite crooner, he would have thought they were from outer space. Now he made a mental note to get a record by Nat King Cole. Or maybe even go to the record store and listen to a few different crooners in that little booth. See if he had a favorite.

No, that wouldn't be necessary. Nat King Cole would definitely be his favorite.

Unfortunately, Fat Freddy waddled by and set the chocolate shake on the counter beside Carol's porcelain arm. And, fortunately, kept waddling. Nat had been hoping he'd work far more slowly.

*What do I owe you for that?' Nat asked her.

*You should know what a chocolate shake costs. After all, it's your second one today.'

*I guess I wasn't paying attention.'

*Shhhh,' she whispered, finger to her lips. *This one's on me.'

Nat's cheek muscles went crazy.

She likes me. I knew it. I knew she liked me. She really likes me.

He opened his mouth but no words came out.

*You got someone in line behind you,' she said.

Nat looked over his shoulder to see a middle-aged couple, waiting. But they were still peering over Carol's head at the menu. So he had a little time. But maybe not much.

*So, now that you met me at work, can I have your phone number?'

*I didn't meet you at work. I met you on a bus bench.'

*No, you met me here. Just now.'

*How do you figure?'

*You haven't really met someone until you know their name.'

*I guess that's one way to look at it.'

*So, can I have your number?'

*No. I'm not that kind of girl. But if you want to come by here again, that would be OK. Now . . .' She indicated the people behind him with a flip of her head.

Nat grabbed the milkshake and ran all the way back to Little Manny's. Just because he had energy to spare.

Nat lay in bed, the door still open, a spill of soft light pouring in from the hallway.

He figured the old man would come in to say goodnight. He usually did.

He closed his eyes briefly, thinking about Carol. At least, it seemed brief. When he opened them, the old man was pulling up the cane-back chair.

*I thought you might be asleep,' the old man said, seating himself.

*Nope. Just thinking.'

*How do you feel the new job is going?'

*Oh. That. Well. OK, I guess. The foreman doesn't like me. He's just on me all the time. It's like he's got it in for me. When I first got that job, your friend LaPlante said nobody would treat me unfairly, and if they did they'd answer to him. Sometimes I wonder if I should tell him. But then I think maybe that would just make it worse. And besides, sometimes I see Merino talking to some of the other guys on the loading dock, and I think maybe it's not just me. Maybe he hates everybody.'

*Maybe the lesson is to learn not to let him get your goat.'

*I guess.'

*So, then, other than your working relationship with the foreman . . .'

*Well. It's damn hard work. Sorry. Darn hard. My back and arms are just screaming at me all the time. But I think I'll get used to it. And when I do I'll be in much better shape.'

*It's not a bad deal to get paid for staying physically fit.'

*That's what I was thinking.'

An awkward pause. Nat knew there was more the old man wanted to say. In fact, he'd known it all along, he suddenly realized. Since dinner. No, since he'd gotten home.

*I assumed you must be tired. You'd have to be after your first full work-week. That's why I was surprised when you were gone all day today. I thought you'd be home resting most of the weekend.'

*Well, I wanted to take Feathers out. You know. Really be outdoors.'

*Aren't you outdoors all week on that loading dock?'

*Well. That's true.'

Another awkward silence.

Then the old man said, *You're eighteen years old, Nat. You're a man. A young man, but a man. Not a minor child. You don't owe me all the details of everywhere you go and everything you do. That's on the one hand. But then again, on the other hand, I think the success of this arrangement rests on your willingness to be reasonably forthcoming.'

*I don't know what that word means.'

*Forthcoming?'

*Yeah.'

*It means honest. But it means more than that, too. Being forthcoming is not just telling the truth in a pinch. It's really being willing to let the truth come up into the light. It's not holding anything back.'

*Oh. OK.' Nat paused to gather his thoughts. *OK. I'll be forthcoming. Down at the Frosty Freeze . . . there's this girl. Her name is Carol. She has freckles on her nose.' An embarrassed pause. *I'm not sure what else I'm supposed to tell you about her.'

*You don't have to tell me any more about her. That's as much as I need to know.'

*Is it OK?'

*That's an odd question. How could I tell you it's not OK? It's part of being human. I'm just glad it didn't turn out you were mixed up with some kind of lower companions. Something that could lead to trouble.'

The old man rose to go.

*Nathan?'

*Yes, Nat?'

*There's one other thing I wanted to tell you. You know. Just to be forthcoming.'

He sat back down again. *All right. Go ahead.'

*Remember that first birthday of mine after I got arrested? And you came to see me and brought me roast duck, a cake and a present? And a picture of my dog? And we talked about the presents you'd been leaving for me my whole life, and which ones were really good guesses on what I might like?'

*Yes. I remember. You said the baseball mitt. And the ant farm. But that your grandmother wouldn't let you keep it.'

*I started to tell you something that day. And I don't even know why I stopped myself. It's like it meant too much to me, so I couldn't talk about it. I don't even know if that makes sense. Anyway, what I started to tell you about . . . was the boxing gloves.'

*Oh, yes. Your fourteenth birthday, wasn't it?'

*The boxing gloves changed my whole life.'

*How so?'

*Because I knew then . . . that's what I want to do. That's what I want to be.'

*You want to be a boxer?'

*More than anything.'

*A professional boxer?'

*Yeah. Pro.'

*Do you still have the gloves?'

*No. My grandmother made sure I wouldn't get to keep them.'

A long silence. Nat thought he heard the old man sigh.

*I guess I could keep that in mind come Christmas.'