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with an assortment of containers. With each one she announced its contents—
frijoles
,
empanadas—
before setting it in the bag. She moved on to the pantry and pulled out a loaf of bread, some individual boxes of cereal and a package of tortillas. She pulled out a couple of gallon-size resealable bags, then filled one with half a dozen fresh muffins. In the other one, she put a bunch of grapes. She handed the bags to Brad.
    “Oh, but I can’t—” he began.
    “Of course you can,” Mrs. Ortega said.
    “But—”
    “Don’t bother,” Danny said. “This is what she does.”
    She nodded. “Welcome,” she said again. “Eat more. Boys your age need much food, and you’ll be working hard for Hector. Now go get set up. You need anything, come down and let me know.” The oven buzzed and she turned away from them.
    “Come on.” Danny tucked the frozen meals under his arm and snatched a set of keys from a peg board next to the house phone. He led the way through a door that opened into a huge backyard. At the far side of the grassy expanse stood a large swing set, complete with attached slide and monkey bars. Next to it was a big tree, perfect for climbing. Brad could just make out a platform nearly hidden in the thick summer leaves. A cement walkway led away from the house to the back of the garage. Wooden steps gradually turned into a small deck, leading straight to the door of what was clearly the garage apartment.
    “You’ll be able to access the stairs from the front yard,” Danny said, pointing to a gate in the chain-link fence separating the front yard from the back. “There are motion activated lights around the front of the garage, so if you come back late, don’t be surprised. Also, you’ll want to probably keep the curtains pulled on that side. If someone else sets off the lights, they’ll shine right through to the bedroom. Well, it’s not really a bedroom since the apartment is just one big room with a closed-off bathroom, but one corner has the bed and a small dresser.”
    “You guys get people in here every summer?” Brad asked when they reached the top.
    “Pretty much,” Danny said, unlocking the door. “Summer’s the busy season. Papá usually hires a few college kids for the season and sometimes one will rent the apartment. It’s not much.” Danny swung the door open and stepped aside for Brad to go in.
    “I don’t need much.” Brad had expected something barren, something basic. A single room with a cheap carpet and an exposed light bulb. He hadn’t expected an honest-to-goodness apartment. The place looked more comfortable than the dorms he’d viewed online when searching for a university. Glossy wood floors covered the entire space, with a large round rug in the middle of the living area. There was a couch and a small chair sitting at an angle from a slightly beat up old coffee table. A desk and a lamp occupied one corner.
    The room may have been one big space, but it was clearly divided into different sections. The dining area connected to the living area. A small two-top table with mismatched chairs sat next to a dorm-sized refrigerator/freezer combination with a matching microwave on top. A small cupboard was built around a sink with a tiny patch of counter next to it. The bedroom area had a double bed with a patchwork quilt that looked handmade. A wooden armoire and dresser filled in the small alcove created by the walled-in bathroom.
    “Wow, this is great.” Brad set the forms—now crumpled in places—on the desk and tried to smooth out the wrinkles he’d caused. The contents of the bags he’d looped around his wrist to free up his hands clanked.
    Danny looked around as though considering. “Yeah, it’s not too bad.” He walked over and stuck the frozen meals into the mini-refrigerator’s tiny freezer.
    Brad dropped the bags of food onto the small table and began to explore the space, Danny shadowing him. He was only putting off the conversation they needed to