Page 48 of With Stars in Her Eyes
“But this says prepaid.” My mouth fell open. “How is it—”
Jeannie cleared her throat. “Y’all are going to clear out the unused space over the tattoo shop. It’s been empty for years, and Samantha’s grandfather never knew quite what to do with it. If y’all can get it cleared out, it’s yours for one year beyond a small security deposit to cover the insurance.” She gestured to the old door behind the truck trailer.
Just like on the blizzard night, I knew there was no possible response to a command by Jeannie Gallagher-Keegan other than to obey, so I followed her. She twisted an old key in the lock and climbed a somewhat narrow staircase to a second locked door.The door opened into a large room. A burst of air sent a plume of dust up in the space full of boxes and broken furniture all draped by cobwebs.
“When they converted the building from the school, there ended up being a few of these spaces that were difficult to rent. It’s basically just this room here, which was an office for one of the teachers, and through there is a large janitor’s closet in the back with a sink and such. No bathroom facilities though. I estimated you would be able to fit most of the things here. It’s linked into the central furnace system, so I thought it would do about as well as those storage units you were talking about. Seemed more convenient than that and cheaper, at least for the first year.”
“Wow…”
“Dr. Powell said you would be welcome to salvage anything, not that there seems to be much worth saving in here, but if you and the kids there are willing to clean it out, it’ll save him the cost of the junk hauling. There is a window behind that stack of boxes. Not sure if you’ll be able to open it, but it’d be worth a shot.”
Courtney, Samantha, and Nic stood in the doorway.
“So, y’all are just here to…”
“We’re here to help you clean up the space in time for your movers to come and put all the boxes up here.” Nic spoke with authority. Like it wasn’t an offer. Like it was simply what he had on his to-do list for the day.
“But I don’t even knowyouand I just met y’all”—I nodded at Courtney and Jeannie—“basicallyyesterday. We all have jobs, and—”
“Shouldn’t take more than into the early afternoon if we all work at it.” Samantha grinned. “Don’t try to fight it, sweetie. Once Ms. Jeannie decides someone is family, the rest of us fall in line. This is usually my day off anyway. I found another manager to come and cover for Courtney’s shift. And we should be done by the time your shift starts, since don’t you do the closing shift today?”
My mouth fell open. “How did you—”
“Courtney thought you had said that yesterday, but we double-checked with Denise.” Samantha sipped her coffee. “Any other objections?”
“Ms. Jeannie, seriously, how can I thank—” I twisted around, but Jeannie was already gone.Holy molythat woman could move fast when she wanted to. “Where’d she go?”
“Probably wanted to avoid the thank-yous.” Courtney now held the key.
Nic set down the large bin he’d been carrying and opened it. Cleaning supplies. Trash bags. Work gloves. “Municipal dump closes at three. Let’s see if we can get two trips in before then. If you have to go to work before that, Sam, Courtney, and I can go unload the second round ourselves.”
“And this is actually happening? Y’all just coming in and helping me with manual labor for a bunch of hours.” Samantha responded by donning gloves, and Nic began digging through the first pile of detritus as if they knew the only way I would believe it was happening was to begin.
Courtney nodded, brandishing the coffee carrier and the rest of the doughnuts. “Drink your coffee while it’s hot, and we’ll get started.”
We spent several hours working and carrying loads down to Jeannie’s trailer. Nic wasn’t very chatty, but Samantha and Courtney had put on music, which led to a surprising amount of progress.
“So Nic, what’s your story? You know a lot about mine after dealing with this mess.”
“Oh, the usual. Usurped tyrants. Mistaken identities. Intrigue. Doomed to eternal unrequited love for a sprite I met under the moon. General mayhem and chaos.”
I laughed.
“She didn’t mean yourDungeons and Dragonsstory, you weirdo.” Samantha snorted.
“Don’t mind him.” Courtney leaned in close to my ear, herwhisper tickling my earlobe. “He’s just tired because he was on a Zoom meeting with his best friend back in Texas late last night planning aDungeons and Dragonsparty for when he gets back.”
“It’s going to be epic.” Nic stood tall in a posture that would be well suited to a knight about to charge into battle.
Courtney shook her head ruefully. “We both had unconventional childhoods, which is why Nic is healing his inner child through adult role-playing games.”
“Rude.” Nic crossed his arms, a stifled smile making his lips twitch.
Samantha snorted into her water bottle. “Oh… don’t let him being tired and quiet today fool you, he’s normally especially chipper in the morning.”
Nic rolled his eyes.
Courtney winked. “True. He talks to his pet tree on occasion while enjoying his breakfast when I’m too groggy to listen to him.”
