that morning. Whether they knew Emily there or not, she was paying the Delicious Deli a visit.
A long counter ran down the right half of the small store, stopping just short of the window. Two small cafe tables had been squeezed into the tiny space left over. All were empty, awaiting the lunch rush. Auntie Lil sank gratefully into a small wrought-iron chair and eyed the man behind the counter. He was of medium build, around thirty-five years of age, she judged, with sandy hair and an open, cheery face. He had large round cheeks, wide-set brown eyes and a perfectly chiseled nose. His hair fell across his face and he brushed his unruly bangs aside impatiently. He was leaning against an enormous coffee machine, carefully hand-lettering the day's special on a portable chalkboard. He wore a short-sleeved white restaurant shirt and an apron smeared with chocolate. His enormous biceps were evidence that he did most of the work around the deli. Indeed, there was no one else in sight.
"Can I get you something, ma'am?" he asked Auntie Lil. The smile that lit up his face was broad and genuine. She knew, at once, that this was his deli and that he had worked very hard to make a go of it.
"You said you had good coffee," she told him, pointing to the sign. "I'll decide for myself, if you don't mind."
"Like the sign says, it's the best in New York." He poured her out a cup and admired her hat. "That's some hat you've got there," he told her cheerfully. "Wait until the ladies get a load of it."
"The ladies?" she asked him. The coffee did smell delicious. Her stomach rumbled with a loud growl.
"How about some cheesecake?" the proprietor offered with a smile as he set her cup down in front of her. "It's on me."
"That sounds wonderful." Auntie Lil rummaged through her enormous handbag in search of her wallet. "I will have a piece. And one of your he-man heros, too. But I've got money to pay for it."
"You're lucky," the young man told her. "A lot of old ladies in this neighborhood don't have two dimes to rub together." He considered his words and blushed.
Auntie Lil laughed at his embarrassment. "It's quite all right, young man. It's no secret that I'm old."
He nodded sheepishly and ducked behind the counter to pile enormous hunks of meat and cheese topped with shredded lettuce and tomato slices on a long hard roll. He had no intention of stiffing any little old lady on the he-man. It was truly of heroic proportions.
"My name's Billy Finnegan." He set the enormous sandwich in front of Auntie Lil and held out a hand roughened by hard work. She gripped it in a firm handshake, pleased at his confidence. It bespoke an honest heart. He was probably someone she could trust.
"Why don't you sit down and take a break? I bet you've never seen anyone as old as me eat a whole hero."
"No way you can eat all that," he told her. "But I'm willing to sit and watch." He pulled out a chair and sighed heavily as he sank into it. "One day I'll be able to afford some help around here."
"Who did you mean by 'the ladies'?" Auntie Lil asked, the hero poised before her open mouth. She surveyed it carefully then decided the best strategy was to simply dive in and put her hearty eating skills to their best use. She took a huge bite and chewed lustily, muttering muffled and barely intelligible compliments to the chef. Billy was too busy staring at her to answer.
She swallowed carefully. "Are you referring by any chance to the actresses who live here and frequent the St. Barnabas soup kitchen?" she asked politely before diving into another bite.
"Sure. You know them? I've never seen you with them before." He forced himself to stop staring at her incredible eating and looked her up and down with a practiced air of evaluation. He was no stranger to the streets and realized that Auntie Lil's clothes were too modern and expensive to place her in the same class as the old actresses who scraped by in the neighborhood.
"I work at the kitchen," Auntie Lil confessed. She was a third of her way through the hero and still going strong. "Don't forget my cheesecake," she reminded him.
Billy got up incredulously and returned with an enormous slice of cheesecake. "Do you always eat like that?" he asked, watching her