Arashi opened the door. “Grace! How ya doing?”

“Doing well, thanks!” I rubbed my boots against the welcome mat and stepped into the apartment with my bags of Thanksgiving leftovers.

“Here, lemme get those for ya,” he said. I handed him the bags, and he set them on the table. “What are they?”

“Pumpkin pie on the top, some turkey and mashed potatoes on the bottom.”

“Well, thanks so much!” He gestured to the sofa. “You wanna sit for a bit?”

“I was just planning to drop by and say hi,” I said. “Is Bush here?”

“Oh. Yeah.” He lowered his voice. “But he’s locked in his room.”

“What?”

“Yeah. Not gonna lie, this month’s really done a number on him.”

“How so?”

“Well, he started writing a novel. Says he’s gotta get it done by the end of the month, and he’s been falling behind, so now he’s, like, super-concentrating.”

“Oh. So he won’t come out of his room?”

“Not anymore. Haven’t seen him since Thanksgiving. We’ve got a system where I leave him two meals a day outside the door.”

“Oh. Is he okay?”

“He’s also been growing this beard. It’s, like, a full beard and everything. Doesn’t really want to show himself.”

“Ah. Very … bushy?”

“Yes,” he chortled, “very bushy. Also for some reason he’s been very horny this month.”

“Ew. Okay,” I said. “Is that why he doesn’t want to come out?”

“No idea.”

“I see. Better be a good novel, then,” I said. “Actually, not sure if I want to know what’s going on in that novel now.” I checked my watch and smiled. “Well, I better be making it to Maddy and the Rooster’s soon.”

“Yeah, thanks for stopping by!” He led me to the door.