Page 5 of Cloud Storm

“Not one I want to be on, believe me.” My voice sounds bitter.

“What do you mean?” she asks, confused.

“In my perfect world, the Suit wouldn’t be living on the same street. In my perfect world, I wouldn’t have to think about what time to go out so I don’t cross paths with him.”

Why did he have to move here when there are so many other houses he could have chosen? Damn the man.

“Ariel, I doubt you’ll see him that much. I’m sure he’s very busy, so he won’t be around for you to cross paths.”

She keeps talking, but it’s just background noise.

I do some reckoning thinking about the thousand possibilities, I’m thinking through my options, but can only come up with one solution.

“I think it’s time for me to expand my horizons,” I state.

“Well, that’s good news, because I think it’s time you dedicated yourself full-time to the bakery.”

If she only knew that my decision affects more than just our business.

“I also think that I should start looking for a new apartment.” Now I have her attention. Roselynn looks at me wide-eyed. “Time for you to do your magic, partner. Get your little gadget and get busy with those Excel spreadsheets of yours. Do some math and tell me the exact budget we have to play with.”

Once she’s given me a figure, I’ll divide it in half and then deduct ten percent, that way I’ll know I’m well within budget in order to keep my feet on the ground.

I made a promise to myself that I’d never have to live on the streets again, so I always keep my expenditures low and work to a minimum budget. Although my dream of having a rustic bakery is growing increasingly solid, I can’t take it for granted.

I still buy my clothes from thrift stores and I’ve learned some sewing basics. I buy my groceries from street markets and I refuse to get a car.

My checkbook remains hidden under the bed just imagining all the expenses those luxuries would incur. Fuel, oil change, insurance policy, and not to mention pollution and fossil fuel use.

Definitely not necessities.

I’m saving the planet, and my future too.

With regard to the apartment, maybe the money won’t be enough to pay for as nice a place as this downtown, but I should still be able to find something decent. As long as it has a roof, walls, and a door it’ll work fine for me.

I’m not that picky.

“Don’t think that I don’t know what’s going on here,” Roselynn says.

“What are you talking about, silly?”

She rolls her eyes and places her hands on her hips, trying to look intimidating. “You want to run away and hide like an ostrich with your head buried in the sand.”

“Now you’ve lost me.”

Faking dementia, that’s my jam.

“Look, I know you don’t like the man from the bank.”

“You’ve come up short.” I roll my eyes.

“You can’t run away just because he’s our new neighbor, Ariel.”

I cross my arms over my chest defensively as I turn to face her, like the brave girl I’m pretending to be.

“Haven’t you been telling me for months now that I should give up my cleaning job in order to spend more time creating delicious goodies? Yet now you’re saying that’s not what you want?”

There you go, good reasons.

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