Bed and Breakfast
The narrator takes dinner in the kitchen of a familiar bed-and-breakfast on the road leading to Hell. The proprietor, Hopsack, greets a female caller at the front door. After some negotiation, he lets the woman eat with the narrator.
The visitor introduces herself as Eira, explaining that she is destitute and that Hopsack agreed to let her stay until a paying customer displaces her. The narrator observes that the hotel’s guests tend to be people on their way to Hell and demons coming from or going to work. Eira, incredulous, wonders aloud whether she and the narrator are headed to Hell. The narrator reflects on the limited attraction of heaven to all but the most saintly.
Concluding that neither she nor the narrator is a demon, Eira asks whether they are in danger. The narrator admits to taking precautions against the devils, even though most behave well in the hotel in respect of their hosts. He explains that the demons are easier to spot in the hotel and wield less power when identified.
Eira learns that the living as well as the dead visit Hell. She recalls the death of her brother and presses the narrator on whether he could have become an angel.
A knock at the front door of the hotel interrupts their conversation, and Eira supposes that she will be asked to depart. The narrator invites Eira to finish her meal before going. Eira offers to sell her wedding ring to the narrator, citing her recent escape from an abusive husband.
Hopsack ushers a demon into the kitchen and gestures at Eira. The narrator offers to take Eira to his room, and the proprietor agrees.
The demon distributes business cards identifying himself as J. Gunderson Foulweather. Making conversation, the narrator offers to give Eira a ride to St. Louis in the morning. Eira wonders whether the demon is bound for Hell, but he explains that he is on his way to Iowa to trade commodities.
Eira accuses the narrator and Foulweather of being in league to convince her of the nearness of Hell. The demon assures her that his home is close by and denies being acquainted with the narrator.
Foulweather describes the various kinds of beings to be found on the road outside the hotel. He notes that among the passersby are escapees from Hell. Unsettled, the narrator excuses himself from the kitchen. Eira hurries to join him. The narrator invites Eira into his room, which he has enveloped in protective magic. Eira excuses herself to the bath.
Readying for bed, the narrator considers whether to hide his wallet but decides to place his trust in Eira. He ruminates on his budding relationship and decides to offer Eira a place to stay and some money. The narrator’s reverie is disturbed by the notion that Eira has escaped from Hell and that Foulweather has been sent to retrieve her.
The narrator drifts to sleep before being awakened by Eira emerging from the bathroom. She joins the narrator in bed. Stepping away for a bath, the narrator returns to Eira’s side, and she offers herself to him.
Eira observes that the narrator is unlike her jealous and abusive husband and compares him favorably to Larry, her lost love from high school. Overwhelmed, Eira begins to cry. The narrator comforts her, recalling a woman from his own past. Eira supposes that her husband might have been in the grip of Hell while still alive.
