“You don’t see me there now, do you?” I snap. “You finally got what you wanted, after all these years.”
The bitterness of my tone tastes like acid on my tongue, and Aidan’s knowing smirk turns downward. “Not like this,” he admits. “I never wanted you to do anything you weren’t comfortable with.” He leans on the desk and crosses his arms. “What made you finally decide to do it? Why today?”
I adjust the collar of my peacoat and rub at the back of my neck. “I wanted to clean the house,” Iconfessunder my breath.
Aidan’s brow furrows. “You wanted to do what?”
“Clean!” Ishout. “I wanted to clean the house, but I don’t have anything to do that with, and I didn’t know how to contact you, so I used the void!”
It sounds silly with all my words rushed and jumbled together, butit’sthe truth, and Idon’tfeel like hidingfrom it any longer.
Aidan takes a deep breath as he moves away from the desk. Then, without a word, he walks through me!
I curse, but hedoesn’trespond.Out in the hallway, I see the back of Aidan’s shoulder-lengthwhitehair disappearing behind another door.I hear him rummaging around for a few secondsbefore he reappears with a bucket full of supplies in one hand and a fancy looking broom in the other.
“Is this what you were hoping to find?”heasks smugly.
Igive hima dejected sigh and a small nod. Releasingmy frustration, I agree to let Aidan transport the supplies and meet him back at the house, though I give him a hardnowhen he asks if he can help clean.
Traveling back to Vanderbilt House is easier than the effort it took to leave. My soul is so intrinsically tied to the property that it only takes a simple thought, andI’mtransported through the void, back into the front room of my home.
Obviously,it will take Aidan a few extra minutes to arrive, so I wait patiently by the front door. While I wait, I finally allow myself to hear Simone’s words of encouragement when I thought Icouldn’tdo it.
“You did.”
I give myself a small pat on the back. I know it was a very roundabout way of leaving the house, and others might consider it cheating in some way, but I accept the smallvictorynonetheless.
I took the first step, and for that I can beproud.
Chapter Twenty-Two
KENNEDY
With my belly full (I’mstill not sure how this is going to go once human digestion kicks into gear), I walk down Main Street with a new jaunt in my step. Claudia’s place should be open for business, andI’mdelighted to see a line already forming at her door when I turn the corner.
Ican’tdescribe how happy it makes meto seemy sister doing something that brings her such joy. Through the glass of the front window display, I can see the bright smile she gives each customer as they check out at the register. Another young girl is helping select pastries from the case and pack up each order with care so Claudia can focus solely on the customers.It’sclear how much Claudia enjoys this part of the job.She’salways been more of a people person than me. The connections she made growing up felt so genuine, all the while I tried covering up my shy nature by turning up the volume and adding a little sarcastic wit.
Hands in my pockets, I squeeze between the door and a few patient patrons. I thought the bakery smelled amazing yesterday, but today, with the hint of fresh baked goodies lingering in the air, itsmellslike pure heaven. If I get toexperience thisevery day, this is the best possible afterlife I could have imagined for myself.
Claudia hands off a paper bag filled with half a dozen donuts and spots me out of the corner of her eye.
“Kennedy!You’reback!” Her eyes sparkle with a shimmering gold eyeshadow as she rushes out from behind the counter to hug me. “I’m so glad you came back,” shemurmursagainst my cheek. When she pulls back, she points to a swinging door. “Can youhang outfor a second while Ifinish upthe morning rush?There’sa TV in the back. You can watch one ofthose morningtalk shows you used to love so much.”
Ican’tbelieve she remembers that. But itwasn’tso much that I enjoyed watching thoseshows,it was more about the fact that I was left alone at home while our mother drove Claudia to dance practice. Those talk shows were what kept me connected tothethingsgoing onoutsideourhome. I especially liked the recurring segments that featured local small businesses. There were somanyI wanted to visit inNashville, butnever did.
She guides me by the shoulder, splitting the line with a “pardon me” so we can pass throughandshowsme to the back room. We enter straight into a largestainless steelkitchen filled with appliances in various states of use. An electric mixer is caked in something sticky. In a little corner sits a filing cabinet, a sofa, and a desk. Atop the desk is a black monitor that she turns on with the tap of a button.
“I have streaming,” she says. “Feel free to watch whatever you like.” She wrings her hands nervously, then grabs a pillow from the sofa and fluffs it back to size. “Anyway…” she drawls, “I’ll be out there if you need me.” Then she hurries back to the front of the bakery, her apron ties flying loosely behind her.
I have no interest in watching TV at the moment, though whatever show is playing does seem interesting.There’sa livelywoman traipsing about Paris in a fabulous outfit, but something else snags my attention.
A tray of undecorated sugar cookies sits on a giant prep table, along with all the necessary ingredients needed to dress them. Idon’twant to mess with any system Claudia has in place, but I alsodon’tthinkshe’llbe mad if I customize just one. Besides,I’meager to try somethingshe’smade.
Even in death, there’s always room for dessert.
Grabbing a small glass bowl, I fill it with white icing from a prefilled piping bag. Isearchfor food coloring and find purple.I drop the tiniest drop into the icing and mix, creating a light lavender. Then I take a silicone spatula and coat one of the cookies with a generous amount of icing.There’sa small container of sugar pearls on a shelf, so I take those and form the letter K on top of the icing.
It’scute, butthere’ssomething missing. It needs some shimmer.My last step is to sprinkle it with a dusting of edible glitter labeled MOONSTONE.
