Page 55 of Safety Net
"I always have something in mind."
"Should I be prepared?" I looked down at my skirt and sandals. "Dressed a certain way?"
He looked down too. "Maybe some walking shoes?"
"Where are we going?"
"Ever been on a ghost tour?"
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
LINCOLN
The line outside Tinsel's Ghost Tours booth was long enough for me to breathe a sigh of relief for a good season ahead. Winter was Tinsel's tourist season, thanks to the ski slopes and an impressive number of Christmas-themed shops. Summer still attracted a crowd, but most of it focused on camping and holing up in fishing cabins until August rolled around.
"Mr. Hill." Abel Johnson was an old, quiet man who owned most of the Ghost Tour buses (despite the different-named tours). His family bought up a host of tour companies after decades of working for them.
"I haven't seen you in so long, I was starting to think you moved on," he said.
"Just a busy summer," I promised. "I'll be here to use up all my membership points once fall comes around."
Abel smiled. All his children had moved out of Tinsel, and his grandchildren didn't come to visit. He spent most of his days selling tickets and driving tour buses. I'd made a habit of taking tours any free chance I got. He was so used to my presence that he created a membership card in my honor. He claimed it was a good business move, but I think he was trying to help me savesome money. I countered his generosity by stocking up on Tinsel Ghost Tour merch any chance I got.
"I need two tickets." I scanned the new product display behind him. Abel loved a quirky design. He'd hired a comic artist who went by the name kraken to draw all the illustrations for the exclusive merch. "Two of those baseball caps, a large and medium tee, and what's that…? A water bottle?"
"It's horrid," Abel warned. "Tastes of plastic, no matter how much you wash it. Bad investment, I've been meaning to take them down but haven't got around to it."
"Put me down for one." I wouldn't subject Celeste to microplastics, no matter how much of a super fan I was. The bottle could be transformed into a pen holder or a flower pot.
"Where's your buddy?" he asked. "The nice one with the cookies?"
I smiled. Henrik usually accompanied me on tours. He'd ask the tour guide millions of questions and marvelled at the answers as if half of the responses weren't ad lib.
"He's actually doing something young people like to do for once: going to a party."
Abel scoffed. "I think he's better at baking."
I chuckled. "I'll tell him he owes you cookies."
"So, did you buy another ticket for one of 'em ghosts?" Abel collected my merchandise, taking his time to fold the t-shirts neatly before tucking them into the paper bag.
"Nope, I got a new partner in crime," I said. "She's using the bathroom before we head out."
I'm an amalgamation of energy and nerves anytime I thought too long about Celeste being here with me. It was still unclear whether her agreeing to go out was a dream. Regardless, I was determined to make sure I enjoyed every second, even if the edges began to blur and I woke up in disappointment.
Abel raised a brow. "She?"
"We're working on a project together and decided we needed the night off for something fun."
I tried to keep my voice steady. Cool. I could be chill about this. Or, at least pretend to be, while internally I couldn't stop repeating,she's here, don't fuck this up. She's here and we're not going to fuck this up.
He smiled. "Oh yeah?"
My stomach dropped for a second, fearing I had shared my mantra out loud. "What?"
"This is the same girl you talked about in the book club?" he asked.
"Yeah." My amusement bloomed when Abel nodded with a sense of pride.
