He was able to keep Amber and New York at bay for the rest of the day thanks to the help of Judge Judy, Dr. Phil, and the rest of the charlatans who made daytime TV their lair.  Another quick run in the afternoon, a quick shower with the CD player banging out some old Metallica to drown out his thoughts, and it was time to head over to Manny's and get a ride to work.  He gave Dudley another meal of ground beef and egg, and then they were both out the door, Seth to work and Dudley to whatever it was he did during the night.

Manny lived about a mile north where Tornillo intersected with Mulberry, a quick fifteen-minute walk.  His house was a pink adobe split-level with a front gate.  Nothing fancy, but pretty upscale for this part of town.  Seth knocked on the front door.  The thumping bass coming from inside made the windows facing the street slightly rattle, but however he did it, Manny could hear Seth's knock over all that teeth-jarring noise.  He opened the door, wearing nothing but a towel, hair still dripping wet.

"Amigo!" Manny grinned, dazzling white teeth in a handsome, tan face.  He stuck out his hand and pulled Seth in for a "man-shake", the new millenium version of the handshake:  a grasp of the hand, a slight chest bump, and a quick thump on the back.  Manny was almost a foot shorter than Seth, so this was always awkward, at least for Seth, since no matter when he got to Manny's, Manny was always just getting out of the shower.  Manny Ramirez was not a modest man.  Not that he had to be; the guy had muscles upon muscles.  Seth was no slouch himself when it came to physical fitness, but he had nothing on Manny.

"You mind if I use your internet while you get dressed?" Seth shouted over the bass.

"Que?" Manny cupped a hand to his ear.  "Oh, sorry. . ."

He trotted over to a stereo system with speakers bigger than Seth's bathroom and turned the music down to an almost tolerable level, then looked back at Seth.  "What was that?"

"Can I use your internet?"

"'Course, bro," Manny gestured to the Mac set up on the island separating the kitchen from the living room.  "No porn, though, we ain't got time."

Seth smiled and took a seat at the computer.  "Thanks."

Manny headed to the back of the house toward his bedroom, then skidded to a stop.

"Oh, wait, man, you've got to check this out!  Hey, Harvey!"

From the bedroom, Seth heard a small meow, and then a big gray and white cat came bounding into the room, looking at Manny expectantly.

"Check this shit." Manny's grin was even wider.  "Harvey, get my clothes ready."

The cat hesitated for a second, then ran to an ironing board set up in the hallway next to the living room, jumping onto the stool sitting next to it.  He got up on his hind legs, braced one front paw on the ironing board and rubbed his other front paw back and forth on the iron lying there.  Damned if it didn't look like he was doing Manny's ironing.

Manny roared with laughter and tossed a small cat treat to the feline performer.  Seth just shook his head.

"That cat ain't normal," Seth said as he opened up a browser window on the computer.

"That's right, man, that cat is AWESOME!" Manny whooped, scratching Harvey under the chin.

Seth had to admit that was true.  He'd known Manny and Harvey since he'd moved to Las Cruces, and he was continually amazed at the tricks Manny taught him.  Dudley could learn a thing or two.

Manny disappeared into his bedroom, and Seth began his Googling, scratching absent-mindedly at Harvey's ears as the cat rubbed against his legs.

First search:  Amber Kind

There was nothing.  Plenty of Amber Kings and Ambers and websites with the word kind, but nothing linking the two together.

Second search:  Kind Groceries New York City

That was still there at least, at the corner of Grand and Eldridge.  Seth took a sheet of paper from a notepad next to the computer and jotted down the number, slipping it into the pocket of his jeans.  He closed the browser as Manny came back into the room, wearing a pair of khakis and toweling off his hair.

"So is today the day, my friend?" he asked, an amused smirk on his face.

Seth rolled his eyes.  "Do we have to do this every day?"

"As long as you're bummin' rides off me, then yes.  Soon as you get your own car, I'll shut up.  So. . .whattaya say?"

Seth grimaced.  "Manny, I'm not in the mood. . ."

Manny draped the towel over his neck and crossed his arms.

"And I'm not in the mood to be 3rd shift supervisor anymore, either.  Come on, man, you're the best worker there!  Never missed a shift, never late. . .mostly thanks to me, true. . .never bitch or complain or get into shit with the other guys.  It's time to start thinking advancement, mi amigo."

Seth sighed.  "I'm not interested."

Manny scowled, not a facial expression normal for him.  "Jesus, man, you want to be unloading trucks your whole life?  The only way I get this manager position is if I can find somebody to replace me, and no way would I have any of those other retards taking on a supervisor position.  You imagine Tino as a SUPERVISOR?  Shit."

"Not interested."

"Well, goddammit, GET interested.  Think about somebody other than yourself, you know?  If it's not you, it's gonna be some numbnuts off the street, and you know that never works."

"Fuckin' DROP IT already!" Seth shouted.

There was an extended silence.  Even Harvey looked taken aback by the outburst.  Seth opened his mouth to apologize, but before he could say anything, Manny turned and headed back to his room to finish getting dressed.

"Whatever, man," he muttered.

Seth stood next to the computer, chagrined.

"Shit," he said.