How we cite our quotes: Chapter.Paragraph
Quote #7
A friend, thought Eck. Of course she probably wanted something from him, but he didn't mind. He couldn't afford to be selective about friends, having had no other offers, and none likely in the foreseeable future. After which he would be dead. (27.41)
This is your classic case of abuse: Eck has been so burned by his relationship with Bob that he just can't imagine anyone would want to be friends with him just for his own, funny-looking self.
Quote #8
She murmurs sweet words to him and he wriggles a little, snuggling closer; the sound he makes isn't one Mr. B has ever heard before—a sigh of such perfect complexity that it rewrites everything he has imagined Bob's pet capable of feeling. (34.36)
Everyone assumes the Eck isn't capable of love or friendship, but we get the feeling that no one has ever bothered to find out. Turns out, Eck might be more capable of friendship than anyone else in the book.
Quote #9
"You don't care about me at all. No one cares about me except Lucy. Not even my own mother. Not even you." Lucy doesn't care about you, Mr. B thinks. Not the real you, at any rate. She has no idea who—or what—you are. But I do. (39.31)
This almost makes it sound like Bob and Mr. B are friends. Well, maybe not friends—maybe just heterosexual life partners. They're something, at any rate.