As the news played, Penny and Tamy were drinking Tamy’s birthday bubbly in the corridor. Someone popped a little indoor firework and gave Tamy a birthday kiss. Penny and Tamy thought the newsreader was an asshole; they’d both met him once, he sounded great on air, but when he wasn’t following a script, Jeez, he could bore you to—

“John, hi, how are you? Nice to see you. I meant to say it was lovely having Emma to stay. This is Tamy, it’s her birthday.”

“Happy birthday.”

192

Beth had chosen the highest vacant room at the Hotel Monumental.

The windows opened a bit but not enough to jump out of, even if she wanted to. The hotel had been jumped out of many times in the 1980s so it changed the design of all its windows. But Beth didn’t want to jump out. She just wanted to look at the view.

“What do you think of fire, Dan?” she asked.

“Hot.”

“Someone said of the burning monk Quang Duc that the symbolism of fire was more profound than the heat of the fire.”

“Sounds like someone who’s never been burnt.”

“You’re right there.”

191

The ex-government agent looked at the meter on the taxi.

“Are we nearly there?”

The taxi driver spoke only Twi.

“How much is this going to cost me?” said the ex-agent.

The taxi driver didn’t fully understand but he recognized the signs of a nonpayer so he pulled over and gestured to the ex-agent to get out.

“What? Why?”

The taxi driver said something offensive in Twi.

The ex-agent waved his expired ID at him.

It didn’t wash.

190

John followed Penny into the studio, where he was introduced to Ali Bronski.

Edward the Fireman held back and then followed Tamy into the producer’s booth, and when she asked him what he was doing he told her to take a seat and not to get alarmed by the gun in his hand.

Tamy said Oh.

Then Okay.

Then she sat down.

He asked Tamy if the woman sitting behind the green microphone was “Dr. Frankburg.” Tamy said she was. Edward the Fireman asked Tamy if she thought Dr. Frankburg was beautiful? Tamy said it depended on your taste. Edward the Fireman said he thought she was very beautiful. Tamy said she agreed and asked if he was going to shoot Dr. Frankburg. Edward the Fireman said God no. Never. Tamy asked who he was going to shoot. He said he didn’t know. He was just here as backup.

He asked if “Dr. Frankburg” could see him through the dividing window. Tamy said yes, they could if they looked over. He said that was good, he thought it might be one-way glass.

189

“And finally, a woman of ninety-three has been reunited with her one-hundred-and-eighteen-year-old mother, according to reporter Arty Greenson. What have you got for us, Arty?”

“I’m here at the Mary Jane Rest Home in Upstate New York and with me is Nell Smithson, the one-hundred-and-eighteen-year-old mother of Jean Smithson, who, if you were listening earlier . . .”