Page 24 of The Little Shop of Curiosities Cursed Object 1, The Music Box

“Of course you have us.” There’s another moment’s silence and then Dad speaks again. “You’re right. Of course you’re right. I’m sorry, I’ve been catastrophising. I’ve been so used to keeping you close, keeping you safe, I guess I’m struggling with you finally flying the nest. But I’m—we’re here for you.”

“Hey, Harry,” Pop chimes in. “How’s life in the big city treating you?”

“It’s…weird.”

Pop gives a chuckle. “Now I’m intrigued.”

“I met someone,” I blurt. For a second, they both just stare at me. “Hello?”

“You…met someone? Who is he? Is he nice? Does he have a good job? Does he treat you well?” Dad fires questions at me so quickly it takes me a moment to realise they’ve misunderstood.

“No.” My mouth curves. “Not like that. Not romantically. I ran into this man—literally. We collided on the street and said no more than a few words before going our separate ways. I didn’t think anything of it until a couple of days later when he turned up at my shop.”

“How did he find you?” Dad asks suspiciously. “Harrison Ames, did you tell a complete stranger where you live?”

“No.” This time a small laugh escapes. “Somehow, he ended up with one of my charmed business cards. He said I dropped one of them when we collided in the alleyway, but I could’ve sworn I didn’t have any with me.”

“Huh. Sometimes fate works in mysterious ways,” Dad says eagerly. “Get to the interesting bit. He came to see you at the shop. Is he good-looking?”

I roll my eyes. “He’s cute and not in any way my type.”

“Oh.” He sounds disappointed. “Okay, then what did he want?”

“He and his best friend were kind of stuck together.”

“Stuck together?” Pop says in confusion. “Sounds a bit seedy. Why didn’t they go to A&E?”

“Well, his best friend is a dead drag queen,” I explain.

“A. Dead. Drag. Queen?” Dad says slowly, and Pop snorts. “Seriously?”

“I don’t know the full story—I didn’t ask—but from what I could gather, she, Dusty, tried to possess him, Tristan, and they accidentally got smooshed together in the one body.”

Pop blinks, his brows rising. “Well…I don’t think living in London is going to be boring.”

“Wait,” Dad pipes up. “Did you help them?”

“Yes, of course.”

“How?” Pop says curiously. “I’ve never heard of a spirit being able to possess a living person for more than a few minutes.”

“I shocked them.”

“What?”

“I used my magic. A short, sharp shock to the chest blew her right out of his body.”

“Huh,” he muses, “I guess that would work.”

“It did,” I reply. “Once they were separated, they said thank you and collected the other ghost who’d tagged along with them, a little old lady who doesn’t seem to talk. And off they went.”

“Wait, did you get his number?” Dad asks.

“I already told you, he’s not my type, and I’m too busy trying to figure out what my mother’s family is hiding to pursue romantic entanglements.”

“No, I didn’t mean that.” Dad shakes his head. “I mean so you could call him, maybe hang out, do something fun. It wouldn’t hurt to have a friend.”

“Dad,” I sigh. “Are you seriously suggesting a playdate?”