NINEPaco had looked forward to this night with the enthusiasm of a child waiting for Christmas morning. Big Jim Bullock was taking him to a real art show in a real gallery and Paco wasn’t going to let his cumbersome cast slow him down, not one bit. His determination had surprised his rescuer and he could see the relief in Jim’s eyes every time he took another step forward and did more for himself, relying less and less on Jim. It wasn’t easy. He loved Jim doing things for him. He loved being pampered. It made him feel, for the first time in a long time, as if someone cared. He had come to see himself as a pariah that no one wanted, visualizing himself dying by a dumpster in some dark alley and being unceremoniously scooped up and removed with the rest of the trash.
But Big Jim Bullock had
