“Guys, this is Lev,” Azadeh said as if we were at a picnic and she was introducing us to a new friend. “Lev doesn’t like to be touched. I need the two of you to make sure everyone knows that.” Zeke smiled and moved over, making room for Azadeh’s new stray. “Hey, man. I’m Zeke, and that one is Cyrus. Nice to meet you.” The Lev guy didn’t say anything. He sat with his head hanging. “You hungry, Lev?” Azadeh asked as she grabbed a paper plate and filled it with the food meant for us. “We share our food with the stray too?” I asked, annoyed. “You know if you feed them, they keep coming back.”
...more
