Chapter 3
Henry stepped out onto the sidewalk and experienced the reverse of walking into the restaurant. He had to squint at the brilliant sunlight pouring down. It took him a minute or two for his eyes to adjust after the dimness inside.
He allowed himself to simply stand still so he could sink back into reality. The ‘L,’ just a block west, rumbled out of Jarvis station, its metal wheels screeching as they gathered speed on the tracks. A car with a faulty muffler roared by. Two Hispanic women, one pushing a baby in a stroller, passed him, chattering away in Spanish. Although Henry had taken the language in high school, they were talking so fast he couldn’t understand a word. The leaves in the trees whispered, telling secrets.
All around him, the world went on. It seemed to Henry like
