Thea Goodman is the author of a novel, THE SUNSHINE WHEN SHE’S GONE, (Henry Holt and Co. 2013.) Her short stories have appeared in Other Voices, New England Review and Columbia among other publications. This is her second essay in The Rumpus. Born in New York City she now lives in Chicago and writes about sex and identity, childbirth, love in all its forms, and art. She is at work on a new novel and a collection of personal essays.
I was proud of living on unlucky 13 when some buildings on Park Avenue didn’t even have a 13. My luck changed when the new elevator man, Keith, arrived.
After her charismatic older cousin was burned in a fire, Thea Goodman found in him a kindred spirit. Years after his overdose, she revisits their complex relationship's influence and aftermath.