Why does gorge keep Lennie around if he says "I would have a swell time without you"?

Although George often gets frustrated with Lennie's mistakes, he careas about him deeply...... The men are good friends, and George is Lennie's caretaker. George's life would have been easier if he hadn't had to look out for his friend. Lennie was just a big kid, he made a lot of mistakes, and got them both into a lot of trouble. Nonethe-less, Lennie was George's partner, and unlike most workers... they had a family in each other.