of warm pizza.
She glanced down at her chest and then back up at me. “Are you kidding? This is my fancy sweatshirt. I only wear it when I’m around royalty and stuff.”
I laughed, taken aback by how refreshing she was. I’d already known that about her, but coming straight to her apartment after leaving the fundraiser gave it a stark clarity. The contrast between a woman like Priscilla and Jo was like night and day.
“Stop staring at me and let’s go inside,” she said with a weird smile.
Had I been staring?
“So this is home?” I asked, glancing behind her.
She lived in a stout, red brick building with iron bars across the first floor windows. It was one of the most worn down buildings on the street, but I knew the rent probably didn’t reflect that. Nothing in this area of the city was cheap. She pushed open the front door to reveal a dark foyer leading to a narrow staircase in the very center.
“Yup. It’s my home for now,” she answered with a shrug.
An older short man was checking his mail on the side of the foyer. A brown yamaka rested on the crown of his head and he moved at a glacial pace as he extracted letters from his small cubbyhole.
“Hey Isaac,” Josephine called as we made for the base of the stairs.
“Oh! Hello Josephine!” he exclaimed, turning to face us. “Who is this oysgeputst mentsch with the pitse?” he whispered noisily in her ear.
“Just a friend, Isaac. Goodnight!”
“Friend of yours?” I asked as we hit the second floor landing and started up the next round of stairs.
Jo turned over her shoulder and smiled. “He’s a rabbi and sometimes I help feed his goldfish if he’s running late. Did you know they have Kosher fish flakes?”
After three more flights of stairs, I peeled off my tuxedo jacket and followed Josephine to the end of the hallway. She stuck her key into the lock, twisted it around, and then turned back to stare at me.
I could just make out her green eyes through the glare on her glasses. She suddenly seemed unsure of herself.
“Once I let you in here, you’re not going to look at me the same anymore.”
I frowned. “What? Why?”
She smiled. “It’s just that my ratmates are really sensitive and I don’t want you to insult their home.”
I held my hand up in mock seriousness. “Why do you think I ordered extra cheese?”
She laughed and pushed the door open so I could catch my first glimpse inside. It was by anyone’s standards a modest studio apartment. In all, it couldn’t have been more than 450 square feet, including the tiny patio off the main living room.
“Okay, good, because the rats and I have an understanding. They live rent free as long as we watch Ratatouille every single night. They love the chase scene.”
“Jo, seriously it’s not that bad.”
It was bad. Worse than how I’d lived in college, but she’d done her best to add her charm to the place. One of the walls of the living room was covered with a bright tapestry. She’d shoved houseplants along the windows and multicolored striped rugs covered most of the old wood floors.
“I like it. You have a knack for making the best out of any situation,” I said, turning in a circle to get a better look.
“Well at least let me take you on a tour,” she said, reaching for my hand. I tried to act casual about the fact that our fingers were twined together, but I was sure she could read the shock on my face.
“Here is the kitchen,” she said, taking a step to the left.
I took a step as well, pivoting my body in the direction of the small kitchen area.
“And then here’s the bathroom, bedroom, living room, and foyer,” she listed off, taking a step to the right and gesturing to the rest of the small room.
I laughed.
“Damn, after all that walking, I think we need some pizza,” I said.
“Definitely,” she confirmed with a nod.
I pulled her toward the couch. We fell back into the cushions, aligned hip to hip with the box balanced across both of our thighs.
I opened the box so she could reach in for the first slice. The pepperonis were about the size of my head and I could tell from the smell that they used garlic and basil in the sauce. I could have eaten the entire box myself. We each took a piece and folded them in half to