The Five People You Meet In Heaven

Eddie works on his 83rd birthday at Ruby Pier, an amusement park near the ocean. He maintains the rides, vigilantly preventing accidents that have occurred at other parks. Eddie has worked at Ruby Pier for so long that many of the customers know him by name, especially the children who refer to him as Eddie Maintenance because of the patch on his uniform shirt. Eddie recalls how Ruby Pier looked when he was a child and remembers being a soldier, the source of his permanent limp. He sits and gazes at the spot that once was the location of the Stardust Band Shell where he met his wife. He makes a pipe cleaner animal for a little girl he recognizes from previous days, Amy or Annie. Eddie’s day is interrupted by the screams of customers. He rushes to Freddy’s Free Fall, a ride that drops two cars down a steep tower. Somehow, one of the cars has come loose at the top. Eddie instructs Dominguez, his coworker, to climb up to the top and have the ride operator manually release the safety belts so that they can get the riders out of the car.