I get the feeling from that first meeting that Bonasera had always kept his distance from the Don, despite the friendship between their wives. He considered himself an honest citizen & probably just didn't want to get mixed up with a mob family.
That's absolutely right. Bonasera's attitude towards Don Vito is explained in much more detail at the beginning of the novel.
What has the universe got to do with it? You're here in Brooklyn! Brooklyn is not expanding!
