Belly of the Beast

Chapter 29

The funeral home smelled like tulips and Pine-Sol, which proved to be a heady combination for my fragile senses, and I had to continually check my balance even with Vincent keeping a vigil at my side. He was nursing a guilty conscience from our ill-fated tryst the night before, while I hid the bruise under a black scarf.

I was pleasantly surprised by the number of people who showed up to pay their respects to my surly neighbor. Besides my family and friends, Dr. Travejo from the VA popped by, as well as Henry's in-home nurse, Kathy. Rose, the weekend cashier at Jin's market, was also there, along with an ex-boss who claimed to have kept in touch with Henry, although I'd never heard a word about the man.

Mr. Pearlman's grandson, Steve, arrived late but admitted to having a fear of visiting the city. He'd scheduled his flight in and out so tightly that he had just over an hour to say goodbye to his grandfather.

"I appreciate you taking care of my gramps," he said as he stared at the simple, gold urn holding what was left of Mr. Pearlman. "I know you probably think I didn't care about him, but after I got mugged in Rockefeller Center, I had a hard time getting my lousy ass back here."

"Mr. Pearlman never told me you got mugged," I said, wishing I could calm the guy down. His hands wouldn't stop trembling, although it may have been my six foot three husband causing it.

"Gramps never knew. Nobody did. I couldn't bear having anyone think I was scared to visit. Pathetic, huh?" He glanced up at Vincent, proving I was right about the source of his nerves.

"It's not pathetic," I told him. "A lot of people have a hard time getting past traumatic events. I don't think Mr. Pearlman would have thought any less of you. At least he would have known why you weren't visiting."

Steve looked down at his scuffed, brown loafers. "Yeah, I should have told him. I guess there are a lot of things people wish they could do after it's too late."

"I will agree to that," Vincent put in as he rubbed my back. "Now that you've admitted it to someone, why don't you do something about it? Stay in the city as our guest. I'll pay to reschedule your flight. Do you like Italian food?"

Steve looked stricken, like Vincent had asked him to skydive off the Empire State Building. "Uh, sure."

"We have reservations at The Olive and Chive. It's in a quiet part of town."

"I didn't know there was such a thing." Steve attempted a smile as he glanced at his watch. "Well, I don't have anyone waiting for me at home, so... I guess that would be okay. Thanks."

A smirk had grown on my face that I didn't know was there until I found myself alone with Vincent and he called me on it. "What's with the smirk? I hope it means you're feeling better."

"I'm thinking about your invitation to Steve. I knew you were charitable, but I thought it was geared toward preserving architecture, not steeling the nerves of a cowardly lion."

"Maybe I had an ulterior motive," he said with an innocent shrug. "I thought you might want to get to know Henry's only living relative."

Despite my three-inch boot heels, I had to lift onto my toes to kiss his cheek. "Your altruism knows no bounds."

Sylvie appeared and whispered loud enough for both of us to hear. "Don't look know, but I think someone is here to crash the party."

We all followed Sylvie's not-so-subtle gesture toward the door where Christoph was walking in. Rather than his usual hoodie, he wore a black button-down shirt, and he'd done something different with this hair. Was that gel making his buzz cut shine?

"What's he doing here?" Vincent growled, ditching his charity and replacing it with his ego.

"He asked if he could come. That's why he texted me last night."