Page 15 of After Midnight

Jeanette placed a coy smile on her face. “So, I’ll ask again. Whathappened?”

I placed my ear to the door to listen for the bell above the front door, or for the footsteps of customers who may have come in, or for the ghost of Christmas past. I don’ know what I was listening for, but I knew I needed to listen. I turned back to Jeanette whose smile had grown considerably. “I brought him home.”

“Yes, I know that,” she said with a nod. “What happened after that?”

“Jeanette...”

“Did you fuck him?” She asked and covered her mouth. I darted my eyes throughout the backroom searching for someone hiding in the corner. “You did,” she surmised. “You did fuck him!”

“Jeanette!”

“Girl, tell me everything,” she squealed and punched me in the arm.

“I don’t know,” I sighed. “It was...it was mind-blowing.”

“Oh, yes girl, yes.”

“But Jeanette, the sex wasn’t the problem.”

Jeanette raised an eyebrow and tilted her head.

“I should have never listened to you,” I continued. “I don’t know anything about him.”

“Dream, please. We don’t know anything aboutanyman, let alone the ones we just meet. You’ll get to know him over time.”

“That’s just it. I don’t know how much time I have.”

“What do you mean?”

“I did a search for him online, and nothing showed up.Nothing.How is that possible in this day and age?”

“Hmm,” she muttered and placed a finger on her chin. “Okay, that is strange. But maybe he’s some kind of conspiracy theorist living off the grid. He did say he was just passing through town, and wouldn’t be here for long when I talked to him.”

“You mean when you hired him. And I know why you did to.”

“Why?”

“You just wanted another man to look at other than Jake.”

“Dream,” Jeanette gasped with fake indignation. “I’m insulted. I mean, it’s true, but the fact that you so readily knew that is insulting.”

“It didn’t take a genius to figure out, Jeanette.”

“Yeah, well. You needed the help.”

I leaned on the door and placed my ear to it once again. “Yeah, business is booming right now. So much so, I don’t knowhowwe’re able to have a secret meeting in the backroom and satisfy all of our customers.”

“I know sarcasm when I hear it, Dream.”

“And I know better than to let you talk me into doing something as stupid as letting an unknown man come and live with me.”

“I didn’t tell you to fuck him, Dream,” she said with a laugh. “That part was all you.”

I punched her on her arm, returning the favor from earlier. “Stop it.”

“Ow.”

“This is serious Jeanette. What am I going to do?”

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