The woman smiles warmly. “Do you have an appointment, honey?”
I shake my head.
“Well,that’s quite alright,” she assures me, dismissing the issue with a wave of her manicured hand. “We’ll get you in there in a jiffy!” She pulls out a spiral-bound planner and flips to December. “Now, he usually likes to take the mornings slow,but if you tell me what this is concerning, we might be able to convince him to skip his second cup of coffee.”
She says this casually, as ifit’san inside joke I should know about, so I smirk awkwardly.
There’s a long silence, and I realize she’s waiting for my answer.
“Oh,it’summ…personal, I guess. Well, maybe not.I’msure the town knows all about me by now.”
The woman just stares openly at me, not a single clue as to whatI’mgoing on about, so I throw her a bone.
“I’m new to town, so I wanted to properly introduce myself.”
Her face brightens, all her teeth on display. “Wonderful!”shecheers. “We are so happy to have you here.” She pulls something else from her drawer and this timeit’sa single sheet of paper. “You’llwant to fill that out with your information. Oh, and are you human or paranormal?You’llneed another form ifyou’reone of us.” She winks, and I assumeshe’sinferring thatshe’sa paranormal herself, but Ican’tbe certain.
Honestly, I have no idea how to answer herquestion.
Am I still human? Or am I a paranormal now thatI’mno longer alive?
Werewolves and vampires and banshees areparanormals.I’mjust the spirit of a dead girl trying to figure out what the fuckI’mdoing here.
Yeah, that sounds exactly like some paranormal shit to me.
“I’ll take both forms please.”
“Perfect!” The woman declares.
I take the papers from her, along with a pen from a cat-shaped holder, and go to grab a seat in one of the uncomfortable-but-aesthetically-pleasing chairs, but before I can sit, MayorMusthavencomes through the front door holding a to-go cup of coffee from Kiki’s Cafe in one hand and a boxof donuts in the other.He’s corporeal at the moment, just like me.Tiny flakes of icing fall from his thick mustache as he jovially greets his secretary. She takes the box just as he spies me from the corner of his eye and rotates on the spot.
“And who are you?” he asks, tone boisterous and overly animated in that ‘I’m-everyone’s-grandpa’ type of way. Or Santa Claus.
My jaw unlocks to say something, but the secretary is alreadyanswering forme.
“This is our newest resident! She wanted to meet with you personally and introduce herself. Isn’t that just lovely?”
The mayor croons. “Why yes, it is.In this day and age, common courtesy is hard to come by. Most folks your age would just shoot me a text.” His laugh fills the entire space.
“Oh,isn’t that the truth?” The secretary concurs, chuckling along with him. Then her face turns serious. “They won’t even pick up the phone to call their mothers anymore.”
I want to tell themit’sdue to an entire generation being riddled with crippling anxiety, but alas, I keep my mouth shut. Besides, that last comment sounded more like a personal problem.
I get to my feet and extendmy handto the mayor. “I’m Kennedy Chesterfield, sir.”
He firmly shakesit. “Good to meet you. AugustMusthaven: Town Mayor and owner ofMust Have It Grocery.”
Ididn’tknow about the grocery part, but given how small the town is, it makes sensethere’dbe some overlap in the job market.
“Why don’t you come into my office, and we’ll have a nice chat,” he suggests. “Pamela, what are you doing with those donuts?”
His secretarytuts. “They’regoing to the break room where they belong. You knowyou’lleat the entire box if you keep it atyour desk, and you specifically told me to keep you accountable with your diet.”
MayorMusthavenbristles, his mustache forming a straight line along his upper lip. “Yes, well…I was going to offer one to our guest,” he says begrudgingly.
I shake my head emphaticallywhile making a mental note to ask Theodore if ghosts can eat later.“No,thank you.”
He nods and gestures to the next room. “Very well. This way, Miss Chesterfield.”
