My brow ticks at her attempt at my name. It was at least better than before. Maybe she’s been looking up how to say our names. I shouldn’t be such a dick to her…
“Yeah, Amherst, that’s fine. When will your bros be by?”
“The security company can stop in tomorrow morning. It’ll take about three hours to get everything rigged up.”
“Good, good, sounds fine. Is that all?”
She chuffs. “In a hurry?”
“Yes. My source of income has drastically changed, and I have a family to keep afloat.”
And a mob boss I still have to pay if my parents are ever going to come home.
“Your previous source of income wasillegal,” she reminds me.
“All the more reason for you to let me go make an honest living.”
“I’ll check in with you weekly, but please don’t hesitate to reach out if something—anything—of concern happens.”
“Sure thing, Armhurts.”
She sighs deeply. “Good day to you too, Ms. Feng.”
The line clicks dead and I blow a raspberry as I toss my phone on the counter.
“The cops?” Ace asks.
“Yeah, gonna set up a security system tomorrow.”
He grins. “Yessss.”
I arch an eyebrow. “Getting ideas already?”
“You know it.”
I shove his arm. “Well, get that big brain of yours focused. We’ve got a café to get back in business.”
He enters a horse pose, his arms flexed and face screwed up in the war cry, “Let’s gooo!”
We take stock of what’s waiting for us downstairs while Nai Nai hoards the shower. The seating area is spacious, and there are already several tables and chairs. They all look about twenty years old, but whatever. We can give them a little elbow grease, paint if needed, some hand-sewn cushions, and we’re good to go.
The ceiling is wide and open just like the apartment upstairs. It seems like the building is three stories tall, but the extra height was split between the two floors. Afternoon sun peeks through tears in the newspaper, making moats of dust glitter. I look toward the windows and my inner kid gets a little excited.
We’ve never had Christmas before, but I’ve seen kids in shows on TV ripping open presents. I want to rip this place open like a present.
I run to the window and grab a fluttering edge. It makes a loud tearing sound as I pull it free. Ace gasps and I smile at him. He grins, getting the same feeling as me, and runs for another window. We laugh as we shred the place, leaving the floor littered with news stories from a decade ago.
“Huh, look at this,” Ace says as he grabs a clipping off the ground.
“What’s up?” I say as I stuff another fistful of paper into a black trash bag.
“Says this place would host seances every Wednesday. Maybe we could host them again, get some more customers?”
I take the sheet from him and give it a once-over. There’s a picture of a woman with big rimmed glasses and a bird’s nest of a hairdo next to the title, “Connect with the other side!” I snort and shove the page into the trash bag.
“Back to work, peon. Oh, you start classes on Monday, so make sure you, like, do the stuff I told you about this morning,” I say, not really remembering what the stuff was that I told him about. An online portal signup or something.
“Did it,” he says in a bored tone.
