One of the things that Bud misses the most about living with his mother is having a home. Even though Bud never knew who his father was and it was just him and his mom, he always felt loved and comfortable when he was home. Since his mother died, he has been living in the orphanage. When Deza Malone asks Bud if he has been staying in an orphanage since his mom died, Bud evades the question by asking his own question: "What makes you say that?" Deza replies that he looks kind of skinny, implying that he isn't being cared for properly because he doesn't have enough to eat. Bud doesn't like being thought of as being not cared for, especially because his mother loved him so much. Bud tells Deza that he had been staying in a home before he went out on his own. This is what he refers to the orphanage as—the Home, or a home. Even though he left because there were too many kids, there wasn't enough to eat, and it was dirty, he prefers to think of it as a home—maybe not his home, but a place where he lived and where somebody was looking out for him, even if it wasn't quite enough.
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