Act I The burger hit the steel counter like a warning. Wrapped in greasy paper, it slid toward the trembling boy and stopped beside the blue Coca-Cola fountain. The kitchen lights buzzed overhead….

Act I The boy walked into the rooftop restaurant like he had entered the wrong dream. Every table was dressed in white linen. Crystal glasses caught the glow of Edison bulbs strung overhead….

Act I The man came through the diner doors holding the little girl too tightly. That was the first thing Hank Mercer noticed. Not the dirt on her shirt. Not the fear in…

Act I The boy was too small to be selling gold. He stood on the other side of the glass counter with both hands clenched at his sides, trying very hard not to…

Act I The double doors slammed open so hard every bottle behind the bar trembled. A boy stumbled into the saloon, barefoot, filthy, and shaking. For one long second, nobody moved. The room…

Act I The little girl pressed both hands to the glass as if the cakes were behind a museum window. Inside the display case, cream swirled in perfect white peaks. Strawberries shone like…

Act I The diner went silent when the cane hit the table. A plate split down the middle. A glass jumped, tipped, and rolled off the edge, shattering across the black-and-white tile floor….

Act I The glass shattered before anyone screamed. Orange juice spread across the marble floor in a bright, humiliating splash, running beneath the cream sofa and around the maid’s black shoes. The silver…

Act I The cafeteria went quiet one table at a time. It started with the girls near the vending machines. Then the freshmen by the windows. Then the basketball team, still laughing with…