I did a smart thing that first night. Standing in the parking lot of the car rental place, I saw across the street a liquor store. I said, "I need to go there." Also, I needed to store it in my room so as not to be too disrespectful to brother number two, the recovering, I think, alcoholic. But I'm not entirely sure on that one.
I did another smart thing the first night. After a week in a house so overly air conditioned I was certain I had pneumonia, I was in another house also overly air conditioned I was certain I would get cancer- related-pneumonia. I got permission to open my window and close the door to the guest room, and this was a beautiful thing.
I did another smart thing. For some reason this guy, one of three, took to me and remained my constant companion. I think we both were in it together, and he was very pissed that he couldn't share with me the first smart thing. But at the end of the day, around midnight, the two of us, like partners in crime, would retreat into the sanctum of free air, the sound of crickets, the embrace of humidity, and the love of Mother Vodka. No couple on earth was happier than we.