The morning after the accident, Dominguez came to the shop early,
skipping his routine of picking up a bagel and a soft drink for breakfast.
The park was closed, but he came in anyhow, and he turned on the
water at the sink. He ran his hands under the flow, thinking he would
clean some of the ride parts. Then he shut off the water and abandoned
the idea. It seemed twice as quiet as it had a minute ago.
"What's up?"
Willie was at the shop door. He wore a green tank top and baggy
jeans. He held a newspaper. The headline read "Amusement Park
Tragedy."
"Hard time sleeping," Dominguez said.
"Yeah." Willie slumped onto a metal stool. "Me, too."
He spun a half circle on the stool, looking blankly at the paper.
"When you think they'll open us up again?"
Dominguez shrugged. "Ask the police."
They sat quietly for a while, shifting their postures as if taking turns.
Dominguez sighed. Willie reached inside his shirt pocket, fishing for a
stick of gum. It was Monday. It was morning. They were waiting for the
old man to come in and get the workday started.
The Third Person Eddie Meets in Heaven
A SUDDEN WIND LIFTED EDDIE, AND HE spun like a pocket watch
on the end of a chain. An explosion of smoke engulfed him, swallowing
his body in a flume of colors. The sky seemed to pull in, until he could
feel it touching his skin like a gathered blanket. Then it shot away and
exploded into jade. Stars appeared, millions of stars, like salt sprinkled
across the greenish firmament.
Eddie blinked. He was in the mountains now, but the most
remarkable mountains, a range that went on forever, with snow-capped
peaks, jagged rocks, and sheer purple slopes. In a flat between two
crests was a large, black lake. A moon reflected brightly in its water.