Redhead By The Side Of The Road

 I have been a big fan of Ann Tyler's books for over 25 years now. I found a new one I hadn't read called Redhead By The Side Of The Road. Only 5 hours long on audio book, this one was highly entertaining. The main character is Micah. The youngest brother to 4 older sisters, Micah lives in New York City. He manages the building for the owner so he gets a free apartment in the basement next to the laundry room. He helps his tenants. One tenant on the second floor is dying of cancer so he adjusts the billing to install a grab bar in her bathtub. When she leaves via ambulance he offers her husband a ride. He was getting along with his girlfriend when she suddenly dumps him. All of his sisters and nieces and nephews want him to get her back. A young man shows up one day. As it turns out, he is the son of his college girlfriend. This guy thinks Micah is his father (which he isn't). He feeds him and lets him stay in the spare room for a night. His sisters insist that he should let the former girlfriend know about her son stopping by. He finds her photo when he googles non-profit lawyers in the D.C. area. The next morning she knocks on his door. Her son had left college and she didn't know where he was. She asks him to call her son. He calls the son. The son answers. Micah tells him his mother is here. The son hangs up the phone. He promises her that if he comes back, he'll keep him here and secretly phone her. A month later the kid arrives. He makes him coffee and burgers. He asks him if he should call his mother. The kid agrees. I would like to know someone like Micah.