The Coffin Dancer

Stephen said, “I’m Sam Levine.” Her eyes flickered at his surname and took in his Aryan features. “Well, it’s Sammie mostly,” he added. “To Mom I’m Samuel but only if I’ve done something wrong.” A chuckle.
    “I’ll call you ‘friend,’ ” she announced. “I’m Sheila Horowitz.”
    He glanced out the window to avoid having to shake her moist hand, tipped with five white squooshy worms.
    “Pleased to meet you,” he said, turning back, sipping his new cup of tea, which he found disgusting. Sheila noticed that two of her stubby nails were dirty. She tried unobtrusively to dig the crud from under them.
    “It’s relaxing,” she explained. “Sewing. I have an old Singer. One of those old black ones. Got it from my grams.” She tried to straighten her shiny, short hair, wishing undoubtedly that today of all days she’d washed it.
    “I don’t know any girls who sew anymore,” Stephen said. “Girl I dated in college did. Made most of her own clothes. Was I impressed.”
    “Uhm, in New York, like, nobody, and I mean nobody, sews.” She sneered emphatically.
    “My mother used to sew all the time, hours onend,” Stephen said. “Every stitch had to be just perfect. I mean perfect. A thirty-second of an inch apart.” This was true. “I still have some of the things she made. Stupid, but I kept ’em just ’cause she made them.” This was not.
    Stephen could still hear the start and stop of the Singer motor coming from his mother’s tiny, hot room. Day and night. Get those stitches right. One thirty-second of an inch. Why? Because it’s important! Here comes the ruler, here comes the belt, here comes the cock . . .
    “Most men”—the stress she put on the word explained a deal about Sheila Horowitz’s life—“don’t care doodles for sewing. They want girls to do sports or know movies.” She added quickly, “And I do. I mean, I’ve been skiing. I’m not as good as you, I’ll bet. And I like to go to the movies. Some movies.”
    Stephen said, “Oh, I don’t ski. I don’t like sports much.” He looked outside and saw the cops everywhere. Looking in every car. A swarm of blue worms . . .
    Sir, I don’t understand why they’re mounting this offensive, sir.
    Soldier, your job is not to understand. Your job is to infiltrate, evaluate, delegate, isolate, and eliminate. That is your only job.
    “Sorry?” he asked, missing what she’d said.
    “I said, oh, don’t give me that. I mean, I’d have to work out for, like, months to get in shape like you. I’m going to join the Health & Racquet Club. I’ve been planning to. Only, I’ve got back problems. But I really, really am going to join.”
    Stephen laughed. “Aw, I get so tired of—geez, all these girls look so sick. You know? All thin and pale. Take one of those skinny girls you see on TV and send her back to King Arthur’s day and, bang, they’d call for the court surgeon and say, ‘She must be dying, m’lord.’ ”
    Sheila blinked, then roared with laughter, revealing unfortunate teeth. The joke gave her an excuse to rest her hand on his arm. He felt the five worms kneading his skin and fought down the nausea. “My daddy,” she said, “he was a career army officer, traveled a lot. He told me in other countries they think American girls are way skinny.”
    “He was a soldier?” Sam Sammie Samuel Levine asked, smiling.
    “Retired colonel.”
    “Well . . . ”
    Too much? he wondered. No. He said, “I’m service. Sergeant. Army.”
    “No! Where you stationed?”
    “Special Operations. In New Jersey.” She’d know enough not to ask any more about Special Ops activities. “I’m glad you’ve got a soldier in the family. I sometimes don’t tell people what I do. It’s not too cool. ’Specially around here. New York, I mean.”
    “Don’t you worry about that. I think it’s very cool, friend.” She nodded at the Fender case. “And you’re a musician, too?”
    “Not really. I volunteer at a day care center. Teach kids music. It’s something the base does.”
    Looking outside. Flashing lights. Blue white. A squad car streaked past.
    She scooted her chair closer and he detected a repulsive scent. It made him go cringey again and the image came to mind of worms oozing through her greasy hair. He nearly vomited. He excused himself for a moment and spent three minutes scrubbing his hands. When he returned he noticed two things: that the top button of her blouse had been undone and that