Nora caught me around ten-thirty. She had her coffee in hand.
I waited for a comment. "Lost it," she said.
That was a hazard of the job. Too many brain cells firing at once, confusing the circuits.
By closing time, the room had thinned to the holdouts. It was three regulars at the rail and a couple in a corner they'd owned all night. The TV was muted above the bar, with Ironhawks highlights cycling through on a loop.
Nora was at the service end in her coat, with her bag on her shoulder. She watched me finish the wipe-down.
"Good shift," she said.
"For a Thursday."
"No." She pulled her coat closed. "You know what I mean."
I looked at her.
"You were running about two inches ahead of yourself all night," she said. "That means you were in excellent form. It also means something happened today before you got here."
I draped my rag over a tap handle.
"You can say no," she said. "I'm just telling you I see it."
"Records of mine are getting mailed from Boston," I said. "Old friend's mom called."
Nora's voice softened. "The friend you lost?"
"Yeah."
She nodded. "You know where I am."
"I know."
"Goodnight, Sullivan."
"Night."
She pushed through the service door.
I finished the trays. They were pristine. I untied my apron and went out into the cold, walking home.
Half a block up, a crowd spilled out of a club, with lots of laughter. Every single one was wearing black, some with painted faces. I thought about going out dancing with Bryan and wondered if any in the crowd had just seen each other for the last time.
There’s always a next time until there isn’t.
I kept walking.
A bus hissed to a stop at the corner, doors opening to nobody. The driver looked straight ahead as if he were already somewhere else. The doors closed, and the bus moved on.
When I entered my building, the lobby was bathed in low light.
Martin was at the desk, tie loosened just enough to say his night was almost over but not quite.
He looked up. “Evening, Sully.”
“Morning,” I said, glancing at the clock behind him. “We’ve crossed a line somewhere.”
He smiled. “That we have.”
