Excerpt: Entrance

Delilah slipped out of the kitchen while Emanuel continued to bark orders at his henpecked staff. She scanned for table thirteen, meeting a familiar pair of icy blue eyes. Little prickles crawled up her skin, but they weren’t anywhere near as horrible as the night before. Mentally she felt herself drawn to the man, physically she found herself at his table.
“Uh, hello, what may I get for you this evening?”
“May I see the wine menu?” The recognizable curve to his mouth was back.
“Yes,” She almost handed him the book in her hands before realizing she’d left the kitchen with it an without her apron.
“Oopsie, one moment please,” She began to back away when he noticed the book.
“The Comedy I see,” His smile became earnest, “do you like it?”
“Uh yeah, I love the Divine Comedy,” She couldn’t stop herself from subtly correcting him.
“Dante never called his great work “divine” you know. That was added by admirers after his death, both for the story’s content and the author’s divinely inspired skill,” He cocked his head, “what appeals to you the most?”
“Well I’m not very far,” She showed him what page she was on.
He glanced at the page, smiling, “Ah, the passionate lovers tossed about forever on winds, grasping for things they cannot have.”
“People punished for lust,” She affirmed, “I feel almost bad for them you know?”
He looked at her, expression mysterious, she felt the need to amend herself, “I know they did bad things in their lives but people want what they can’t have naturally. I don’t feel they deserve an eternity in hell for it.”
“But they are damned,” he eyed her carefully.
Delilah shrugged, “That doesn’t mean I can’t feel sorry for them.”

(subject to change)