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Instead of going upstairs, I go down the hallway--Cooper’s grandfather had it papered in black and white stripes, which was apparently all the rage in the seventies gay co in a lawn chair on the back terrace, a bottle of beer in his hand, loo at his side

He’s listening--as he usually is, when he’s home--to a jazz station on the radio Cooper is the onlyof Easy Street and Tania Trace for the hn

"Is he gone yet?" Cooper wants to knohen he noticesin the doorway

"He will be soon," I say Then it hits ht," Cooper says He opens the Igloo and takes a beer froured you’d need one of these"

I take the cold bottle gratefully, and sink down onto the green padded seat cushion of a nearby wrought-iron chair Lucy ihs, snuffling happily atThey’re always so happy to see you Plus, you know, there are health benefits People’s blood pressure goes dohen they pet a dog Or even a cat It’s a docuazine

Of course, pets aren’t the only thing that can help keep your blood pressure down Sitting in a really tranquil place can do it, too Like, for instance, Cooper’s grandfather’s terrace and the garden belohich are totally two of the best-kept secrets in Manhattan Leafy and green, surrounded by high, ivy-covered walls, the place is this tiny oasis carved frohteenth-century stable yard There’s even this little fountain in the garden, which Cooper, I see, has turned on It gurgles coly in the late-afternoon stillness As I stroke Lucy’s ears, I can feelto normal

Maybe when I pass my six months’ review, and I’m finally able to enroll in school, I’ll become a pre-med major Yeah, it’ll be hard to do with a full ti But I’ll find a way to make it work

And thento raduate, I can take Lucy with me on rounds, and she can calm down all of my patients I’ll totally eradicate heart disease, just by havingI’ll be famous! Like Marie Curie!

Only I won’t wear uraniu like I read that Marie Curie did

I don’t mention my new plan to Cooper Somehow, I don’t think he’d fully appreciate its uy Arthur Cartwright, Cooper’s grandfather, angered by the way the rest of the faay, had left the majority of his vast fortune to AIDS research; the entirety of his world-class art collection to Sotheby’s to auction, with the provision that all proceeds froo to God’s Love We Deliver; and almost all the property he’d owned to his ale…

…all except his beloved pink brownstone in the Village, which he’d willed to Cooper--along with a cool million bucks--because Cooper had been the only ht family to have said, "Whatever floats your boat, Grarandfather’s new boyfriend, Jorge

Not that Jordan and the rest of the Cartwrights had been overly worried by Arthur’s cutting theht family bank vault for everyone else