The temperature had dropped, and the heat of the day was gone. It was the end of summer, and I was looking forward to the crisp air of autumn and the changing of the leaves.
“Muddy said you’re staying at The Regal Beagle,” she said as she pulled out a set of keys from her jacket pocket.
“Yeah, for the time being,” I said. “What else did you she tell you?”
“Oh, a few things,” she averred. “You and Brooks look cute together.”
“I see you guys talked about that, too,” I drawled.
She shot me a grin but said nothing.
I thought she was going to take me to General Merc, the store she owned, but she surprised me when she ducked down a side alley to the back street. We stopped at the building that was next to Sweet Teeth.
She stuck the key into the lock and turned the knob. Sheopened the heavy wooden door and hit a light switch, and it illuminated a narrow, freshly painted white hallway. I followed her up the scarred stairs to the landing. Lucy unlocked another door and pushed it open. She flipped on the light.
It was a large studio apartment, painted the same color as the hallway. It had a small kitchen and a queen-sized bed pushed against an interior wall. It was currently made up with blue sheets and two pillows.
“So, you may not know this, but I actually own this building.”
I looked at her. “You do?”
She nodded. “The store downstairs has been vacant for months. It shares a wall with Sweet Teeth, and I thought for sure Gracie was going to rent it so they could knock out the wall and expand the bakery, but they decided against it.”
I walked to the kitchen and opened a cabinet. There was a set of mismatched dishes that looked vaguely familiar. I pulled out a plate and stared at it for a moment before glancing at a smirking Lucy.
“These are the plates Hadley used at her wedding,” I stated.
“Yes.”
Still carrying a plate, I went to the bed so I could examine the headboard. “This is Hadley’s childhood bed. You and Muddy did this earlier today, didn’t you?”
Nodding, she laughed. “Check out the bathroom.”
Though small, it had enough room for a clawfoot tub and a medicine cabinet mirror. There was a gray towel hanging on the hook behind the door.
I went back into the main room and peered at Lucy.
“So anyway, it’s yours if you want it. To stay here, I mean. For as long as you’re here,” she said.
She came to me, took the plate from my hands, and dropped the keys into my palm.
“I don’t know what to say,” I murmured.
“Say you’ll stay.”
“What about the store?”
“What about it?”
“What if someone wants to rent it? They’ll want the apartment, won’t they?”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.” She patted my cheek. “You better get back to the bar. Food’s probably ready.”
“How much is it?”
“Don’t worry about it,” she said.
“I have to worry about it,” I protested. “I won’t stay here for free.”
