Ugh. Well, everything went south fast, and all of Paul's plans fell apart: his prospective roommate suddenly got cold feet and decided he couldn't afford to move to NYC yet. So goodbye to Inwood.

We spent a sad afternoon, as Paul scraped himself up and started looking all over again; as we saw how expensive a studio would be anywhere in the city; as he tried to come to terms with the fact that he might not be able to pull this move off.

And then Ray and Steve stepped in. They are the friends we stay with in Brooklyn: Ray was best man at my wedding, and in the lifetime of my children the pair has essentially been the equivalent of the boys' much adored uncles. R and S own a bar in Park Slope, which has a loyal community of customers, so they have a wide net of acquaintances who know many things. Late yesterday afternoon they consulted with a property manager who was sitting outside in the back patio, with a doctor's office manager who was sitting with his dog at the bar; one thing led to another and Paul was walked over to the office manager's month-to-month sublet opening around the corner . . .

None of this is just what he'd fantasized about. But it looks like P does, in fact, have a viable and very cheap option for moving to the city. He can stay in the Park Slope sublet for a little while; the property manager is going to keep an ear out for studio apartment possibilities; another college friend is considering a move to NYC, so maybe Inwood or its ilk will happen in the future . . .

Anyway, the afternoon ended far better than it began.

In a few hours I'll be catching a bus back to Portland, and Paul will stay here and try to work out the details of his situation. Here's hoping that things can finally settle down for him.