'So,' Kate asked, 'what now?'
I shrugged, chasing a mouthful of pastrami sandwich with a long pull of Brooklyn Lager. It had been a few hours since Kate woke from her little chemical nap – she'd polished off her sandwich in record time, and I was pleased to see some color returning to her cheeks. I'd stuck around until I was pretty sure she wasn't going to make another go of it, but eventually hunger got the best of me. I swapped my scrubs for a pair of jeans, a T-shirt, and some battered Chuck Taylors, and hiked down to the bodega on the corner for a pack of smokes and a bite to eat. The cigarettes tasted like shit, but the sandwiches weren't half bad, and after a day of traipsing all over town barefoot, I was happy for the wardrobe upgrade. Friedlander might've lived in a dump, but at least I knew the clothes fit.
'I don't know,' I said, finishing my sandwich and tapping a cigarette from the pack. 'I've got a contact in the demon-world who might have some idea who's behind this – I thought I'd pay him a visit, see what I can see. Only I'm not exactly relishing the idea.'
'Is he – I mean, do you have to go…' she stammered. 'Is he in hell?'
I laughed. 'Near enough – he's in Staten Island.'
'Oh,' she replied. 'But you've been? To hell, I mean?'
'Have I been? Sweetheart, I'm sitting in it.'
'I don't understand.'
'Hell isn't some faraway land, Kate. It's right here – in this world, in this room. Heaven, too, as near as I can tell. They're just, I don't know, set at an angle or something, so that they can see your world, but you can't quite see them. Occasionally, the boundaries break down, and the result is either an act of horrible savagery or of astonishing grace. But make no mistake, they're always here.'
Kate's brow furrowed as she looked around the room. 'I guess I always imagined hell to be all fire and brimstone.'
I lit my cigarette and took a long, slow drag. 'You ask me, I'd guess heaven and hell look pretty much the same,' I replied. 'Only in hell, everything is just a little out of reach.'
There was a long pause before Kate spoke again. 'You don't seem so bad to me,' she said.
I laughed. 'Thanks, I think.'
'So how'd you wind up here, doing what you do?'
'That,' I replied, 'is a story for another time.'
• • • •
The summer of 1944 was one of the hottest the city had ever seen. The streets of Manhattan seemed to ripple in the midday sun, and the bitter stink of sweat and garbage clung heavy to anyone who dared to venture outside. Even the breeze off of the harbor offered no relief from the oppressive heat. Every night as I made my way back home, I watched as passengers crowded three deep at the bow of the ferry, eager to feel the wind on their faces. But the air was still and thick with diesel fumes, and all they got for their trouble was a sheen of sweat atop their brows and angry glares from those they jostled.
Home back then was a tenement in the New Brighton neighborhood of Staten Island, about twenty minutes' walk from the ferry terminal. The place was ramshackle and overcrowded, and the racket from the munitions factory across the street was as constant as it was maddening. Still, as I hobbled up the stairs, I was greeted by the heavenly aroma of garlic and onion, so I couldn't much complain.
Inside, Elizabeth was standing by the stove, her back to me. A Benny Goodman number drifted across the room from the radio in the corner, and she tapped her foot in time. When I closed the door, she started, and then smiled. I crossed the room and gave her a kiss.
'Sam,' she said, blushing, 'you know the doctors said you shouldn't do that!'
'To hell with them. You're my wife – I'll kiss you if I damn well please.'
'How'd it go today?'
I shrugged off my suit jacket and yanked the tie from my collar, tossing both across a chair. 'Same old story. They said I'm more than qualified, that my references are sound, but there's just no way a gimp like me is gonna keep up with the demands of the job.'
'They actually said that to you?'
'No, of course not – they said a man in my condition.'
'Ah,' she said, as if confirming something she had already known.
'What do you mean, ah?' I snapped. 'Just because the words they use are flowerier doesn't make 'em any likelier to hire me, now does it?'
Tears shone in Elizabeth's eyes. She blinked them back and looked away.
'Liz, I'm sorry,' I said. 'I'm just frustrated, is all. I'll find something eventually, and then we'll get you better – you just wait and see.'
I put a hand on her shoulder. She shrugged me off and returned to the stove.
'Whatever you're making smells fantastic,' I said. Though her back was still to me, I could see her posture relax.
'It's braciola' she replied. It was my favorite, and she knew it. I felt like an ass for snapping at her – God knows it was the last thing she needed right now.
'How're you feeling today?' I asked.
