We walked by Sam down the treacherous stairs, out through the pub, out to a blanket of stars close enough to touch. In dim light, the town’s lanterns looked like magic.
The trolley rattled past, brimming with passengers—a train’s carcass trundling down Main Street, following a gentle curve out of sight. Steam rose from the pavement, starlings swarmed above, and a chorus of pounding feet passed us by, everyone headed in the same direction.
Theodore drew a cigarette from his pocket and lit it, and I raised an eyebrow.
He shrugged in response. “At first, I couldn’t stand them. Now I can’t stop.”
I caught a laugh between my teeth before it could escape. “What would your mother say?”
“Wouldn’t say much of anything I’d imagine. She’s dead.”
My stomach lurched. I stopped in the street. “The
