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The air in 704 Hauser Street still smells of stale cigars and Edith’s overboiled cabbage, but the living room hums with an improbable, electric warmth. Sammy Davis Jr. zips his leather briefcase shut, adjusting the broad collar of his coat with the effortless, cat-like grace of a man who lives under spotlights. He turns toward the door, taking a beat to flash that world-famous, blinding smile at the small audience crammed into the vestibule.
Before step-touching his way out into the crisp Queens afternoon, Sammy leans in close to Archie. It happens in a flash of gold jewelry and suede: Sammy plants a sudden, affectionate kiss right on Archie’s weathered cheek."Thank you for your hospitality."
Edith gasps, her hands flying to her mouth, her eyes going round as saucers behind her specs. She braces herself for the inevitable explosion, waiting for the cartwheel of broad-minded insults about the nerve of famous, kiss-happy Liberals, fully expecting him to scrub at his face as if he’s been branded. But Archie doesn’t move. For a split second he stands frozen, the heavy lines on his forehead shifting not into anger, but into a bizarre, quiet resolve. A strange, wry glimmer hits his eyes as he looks at the entertainer’s grinning face.
"Ah, what the hell," Archie mutters, a gruff rasp tearing through his throat as he steps right back into Sammy’s space. "C'mere."
Archie reaches out, snags Sammy by the shoulder of his jacket, and firmly returns the kiss right on the performer's cheek with a loud, unapologetic smack.
"You're always welcome back in this house, Sammy," Archie announces, his voice ringing out with a startling, proud authority. "Anytime at all, ya hear?"
Edith’s jaw drops so low it nearly touches her knitted cardigan, her breathing trapped in a high-pitched, silent wheeze of utter disbelief. Sammy throw his head back, letting out a rich, booming laugh that rattles the windowpanes, completely charmed by the sheer, absurd majesty of the moment. He taps Archie on the shoulder with a flash of ring-adorned fingers, winks at a stunned Edith, and strides out into the Astoria winter, leaving the Bunker living room forever changed in his wake.