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The problem is rent. That studio was an outlandish amount per square foot, but Bastien’s townhouse, while significantly larger, is a little over double that. It’s unsustainable, and we both know it.

“There’s a trailer coming up,” Ghost says, intruding into my space.

I look up in surprise. “Hey. How did you—” I look down at the column I’ve been looking over. “Never mind.”

“The lady who lived in it died last week. They’ll have it cleaned out by Friday.” He puts his fists on my table and leans on them, which shows off how corded his forearms are. “Two bedrooms. It’s a single-wide but the floor’s sound, I checked it myself.”

“Why is it so hard to get a place to stay in this town?”

“Not enough permanent people. I don’t know.” He shrugs. “They build fancy places for rich people. May to August it’s a ghost town, and the rest of the year I know guys commuting in from Linden Lake, and that’s twenty minutes out.”

“Thanks,” I say.

“Delphine said I should look in on you.” He looks at me steadily. “I mighta seen that little show you put on in the Book Nook. And I hear things.”

“Do you know her well?”

“As anybody does.” He puts his hand to the side of his jaw. It pops. He stretches his jaw. “Much better. Anyway, Pamela does the leasing,” he says. “Tell her I sent you. She’ll be nice to you either way, but she’ll be quicker if you’re vouched for.”

Ghost straightens. He’s most of the way to the door before he stops and turns around.

“He gonna be all right?” he asks. “The professor.”

“I don’t know,” I say, and it comes out before I can dress it up.

Ghost nods like that’s the answer he expected and goes out into the street.

Bastien is sitting at the dining table with his laptop open when I come home. “Lance Broussard invited us to a cookout,” I say, kissing the top of his head.

“Who?”

“Parker’s husband. The umbrella guy.”

“Oh. You should go,” he says.

“You could come.”

He takes his glasses off and rubs the bridge of his nose. “Sorry, I don’t think I’m ready for that right now.”

“I see.”

He closes his eyes. “I’m not embarrassed of you, Levi. I’m ashamed of what they’re saying about me.”

“That sounds pretty close to being ashamed of me.”

“I know. I will be brave enough soon.”

“Just not now.” I try to control my disappointment.

“I’m a bit raw. I need time. That’s all.” He stands up and hugs me. “But you should go. You can’t just be hanging around the house all the time because I’m a shut-in.”

I wrap my arms around him. “You let me decide what I need to be doing,” I say. “Anyway, we need to start packing up this place just in case we find something we can get into.”

“What about your place on Constitution?”

I shake my head. “If you thought a backyard barbecue was going to be hard, this is going to be a lot more intense. Like ten times worse.”

He rocks against me, like we’re dancing. “I don’t know what to do. We can’t stay here. $2,000 a month is way too much.”