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scamp.” Judith remarked, exchanging hostile looks with the parakeet, who was doing something disgusting on top of the refrigerator. Fleetingly, Judith wondered what would happen if Sweetums and Tootle were left locked up together in the same room. The prospect was ghoulish, but not entirely displeasing.
    â€œYou must be a great fan,” Judith remarked to Bob-o’s back as he fiddled with the knobs on the stove.
    â€œFan!” Bob-o turned halfway around. “Friend.” He undid the cape and tossed it onto a pile of old phonograph records. “Knew them all, I did. Larry. Jack. Bea.” His thumb jabbed at each famous face in turn. “A wonderful woman Bea was, nobody like our Bea. Used to leave my dog with ’er.” He picked up a smaller photo which had been lying facedown on an old magazine. “There’s Viv. Beautiful. But troubles, lots of troubles.” He flashed the picture of Vivien Leigh in the cousins’ direction. “Poor Larry, she gave ’im a rare bad time. “’E was a saint, really ’e was.”
    The kettle hadn’t whistled, but Bob-o poured the water anyway. Renie shifted uneasily, keeping a wary eye on Tootle. The bird flapped his wings, then burst out with a parody of his master: “Daddy put the kettle on, wearin’ o’ the green; Mummy come for biscuits, says we don’t keep clean!”
    Tuning Tootle out, Judith nibbled at the shortbread and was relieved to discover it was relatively fresh. “You knew them all in London?” Judith hazarded a guess, relieved that at least Bob-o, if not Tootle, had stopped rattling away like a nursery rhyme.
    â€œMostly.” Bob-o was nonchalant, dipping a single teabag in and out of the ceramic pot shaped like a sheep’s head. “Cream? Lemon? Sugar?”
    The cousins declined any risky additions. Bob-o poured the pallid tea into three unmatched cups. “Cozy, eh, ducks?” He winked at Judith and smiled, revealing two broken teeth. “Nice to have ladies to tea. People ’ere in Canada aren’t as friendly as they’re said to be. ’Ard to make new friends when you’re old.”
    Nuts or not, Judith was touched by Bob-o’s candor. “People get too busy. They’re afraid to be friends sometimes. But you must meet lots of folks in your…uh, job. I think that would be quite pleasant.”
    Bob-o cocked his head to one side, looking not unlikeTootle. “They come. They go. It’s not like the old days.” He sighed, then took a deep drink of tea. “Nothing’s like it used to be.” He waved a hand, taking in the entire squalid room. “They’re all gone.” His voice dropped and his watery eyes came to rest on a picture Judith didn’t recognize, a lovely young woman with golden curls and seductive eyes. “All gone,” he repeated under his breath.
    â€œWe should be, too,” interjected Renie, putting her cup down on an ancient television set. “It’s been very kind of you,” she added, guilt finally catching up with her more fastidious nature. “We’ll come by tomorrow and get some popcorn.”
    Judith regarded Renie with approval. “We certainly will. I’ll see if I can find some of those creams when we go shopping, okay?”
    Bob-o’s face lighted up. “Now what a fine idea!” He put out a hand and clutched at Judith’s fingers. “I knew you were a kind lady, I could see it in your eyes. ’Appy eyes, I call ’em.” He shot a glance at Renie. “Some as ’as ’em, some as don’t.”
    To Renie’s credit, she kept her smile in place. Judith thanked Bob-o again, let him see them out the door, and remembered to call a farewell to Tootle. The parakeet hopped off the refrigerator and landed on Bob-o’s head. “Four ducks on a pond, the drake’s on the make! So long, strumpets! Don’t forget your