old lady?â
Eddie made a face. âNot my type,â he told them, loud enough for Eunice to hear him, then softly, but she could still hear what he was saying, no problem, âBeen following me around all day.â
âHey,â the one without a hat said, pointing at Eunice, talking too loud, as if she was the one with the hearing problem, not the soldier. âYou can stay here with us. Heâll bring you a plate.â Eunice saw him wink at Eddie. Everyoneâs a comedian, she thought, no matter how cold it is, no matter what.
Eunice shook her head. The man without the hat shrugged; she didnât want to stay, that was fine with him. Who needed her anyway?
Eddie headed for the nearest exit, Eunice following him, the dog in his wet sweater, only one this time, following Eunice.
âSoup kitchen,â he mumbled.
âDonât like soup,â Eunice told his back.
âYouâre in no position not to like soup,â Eddie told her. âItâs soup or the Dumpster.â
âMaybe I was mistaken.â
âYou mean now you like soup?â
âTomato. Tomato rice isnât bad either. Donât like minestrone. Too many things in it. You never know what the hell youâre eating. Donât like cold soup either. It gives me gas.â
âNo oneâs going to offer you cold soup in the winter,â he said.
âCold soupâs for hot weather.â Shaking his head, amazed by how little some people knew.
There were some homeless people milling about outside the church. Eddie headed up the stairs, turning when he was halfway to the door. âHey,â he said to a crazy-looking man leaning on the railing, âthey let dogs in here?â
The man was talking, but not to Eddie. He seemed to be having a conversation with the snow, or maybe with a very small friend who was standing right in front of his unmatched shoes, someone too small for anyone else to see. Or maybe it was his shoes he was talking to, the left one on the right foot, the right on the left. Must be something in the water, Eunice thought, that stuff that prevents cavities, so many people crazed out of their minds. But Eddie just shrugged and headed in. Eunice stood on the sidewalk, Lookout at her side.
âSpare some change?â Eunice asked two women sitting on the bottom step.
âWhat are you, stupid?â the one with a blanket draped over her head asked. âIâd be sitting here in the snow if I had some change to spare?â
Eunice shrugged. âJust asking,â she said. âThe dogâs hungry.â
âThe dogâs hungry,â the second woman said. âThe dogâs hungry.â She had on a menâs tweed blazer, a sweatshirt underneath, the hood over her head. Eunice could see she was shivering andwondered why she wasnât sitting inside. She looked up at the door. No soldier.
Eunice sat on the steps, too, a foot or so away from the two women. âIâm looking for my old man,â she said, acting more like Eddie than herself, not interrogating the women, just having a little conversation. âHeâs a littleâ¦â twirling her finger in a circle at the side of her head. âWandered off. Tall guy. Exceptionally tall. Got a tattoo on his hand. A bird. Least, I think itâs a bird.â Eunice shrugged, wiped her nose with her glove again. She laughed. âWas a bird the last time I looked,â she said, âwhenever the hell that was.â
âYou talking about Florida?â
Eunice turned to look at the one in the blanket, the one whoâd said that.
âYeah,â she said. âYou know where heâs at?â
âHangs out on the subway a lot. Doesnât like the cold.â
âRight,â she said, the dog looking up at her face, whatâs up, whatâs up, whatâs up?
âYou try Penn Station yet?â
Eunice shook her head.
âTry Penn Station. If you wanna