THREE YEARS LATER, and Debby and I have a house. She designed it herself, including the sauna area, which was entirely her idea. Bruno sold me the business and retired. He calls every now and then, says he’s on some jeep tour in Iceland or Greece, loving every moment. Since taking over the business we’ve gotten a lot of new clients, because no one does nightmares like us. I already have eight employees. They’re not as good at building as I am, but good enough to keep our clients on board. I don’t pull night shifts anymore, so Debby and I always go to bed together. She holds me tight and I kiss her on the cheek. Every now and then I plant a nightmare in her. Just to make sure she doesn’t accidentally start thinking about leaving again. It’s okay, it really is, because I’m fairly certain she doesn’t even remember the nightmares anyway. My favorite part of the day is right before we fall asleep, when she hugs me so tight I can barely breathe. Sometimes I whisper in her ear that I can’t believe we actually have the life we’ve always wanted, and she smiles, and says that neither can she.

101.3 FM

1.

SOME OLD MAN brought the radio set in a few days ago. Took him two minutes just to open the door. Benny went to help him out, carried the radio up to the counter. The old man slouched behind him, breathing heavily. Then he looked at Benny with his puffy eyes and said the radio had conked out.

“What make is it?” I yelled through the storage room window.

“Grundig 3059, wooden panel,” Benny replied.

“Yowza, an antique. Need me to take a look?”

“Nope, it’s a goner,” he said, and advised the man against repairing it. Said the spare parts alone would cost more than three new Sonys.

“No, out of the question,” the man said. “Nechama wouldn’t stand for a new one.”

I came out of the storage room and stood behind the counter.

Benny smiled, told him he could help convince her. That he’d give them a good price.

The man lowered his gaze.

“She passed away. Two years ago.”

Benny apologized and turned to face me.

“Ever fix one of these?”

“No, but I think I can.”

Benny hesitated for a moment, then told the old man we’d give it our best shot. The man nodded, rearranged his scarf and green cap and left the shop.

Benny shuffled into the storage room, placed the radio set on the table, and asked if I happened to catch last night’s game.

“There was a soccer match?”

“It’s like you’re living under a rock. The basketball game! Maccabi made it to the finals.”

“Oh, right. Yeah, it’s awesome.”

He smiled.

“We can watch the finals together,” I said.