He was listening to the raindrops pinging against his living room’s windows. His discomfort started when he and Mitzi went to lunch at a North Beach bistro. An old Italian place on Stockton Street. The waiter told them dairy items were off the menu, due to Fukushima-related contamination. Some vegetables like spinach were also too hot. Plus, he’d run out of potassium iodide, the over-the-counter anti-radiation tincture. Heller hated the tincture. It made his heart beat too fast. As a bonus, Heller had the joy of receiving another telephone call from 2-Time. His partner was tripping, flying high on stress, kvetching that Tommy Doolan had him under a microscope and the Department of Public Health was going to investigate Eternal Gratitude. The feds said the rainfall was safe, the regional contamination levels were insignificant. Nobody bought it. When it rained, the streets were deserted. Yesterday the newspaper said the rain contained iodine levels fifty times higher than normal.
