Page 29 of Feverburn

Past the flame, I spotted a cloud of hair.“Viviane?”I said, walking up to the puffball until I found her sitting in an armchair behind the desk. She squinted briefly with a sweet smile until it registered who I was.

“Oh, my beautiful Rose!”she said lightly, prepping herself to get up. She grabbed my hand as if I were a little child and guided me to the back room of her store. In a high window was a round stained-glass motif of an ornate rose on a stem with leaves. The glass was about three feet wide, framed in wood, leaning against the window.

“That’s gorgeous!”I said in awe. Each petal was a different shade of red, each leaf a crisp green, creating a rich texture.

With a shaky hand, she pointed to a ladder.“If you can reach it, it’s yours!”

“Oh, I couldn’t! It’s so beautiful!”

“And so are you! My husband hates it. You’re doing me a favor.”

I grinned, stepping up on the ladder. Viviane’s small hand clutched my ass to stabilize me.“Why does your husbandhateit?”

“An old boyfriend, a fella from the Netherlands, made it for me.”

I plotted a way to pick it up, gauging the weight.“A Dutch guy? That sounds romantic!”

“Not really. I sat for him as anudemodel, and afterward, he said my tits looked like beaver tails.”

I fought a giggle making my way down with the frame, only to turn around to see Viviane lifting her sweater, revealing a set of saggy boobs. I almost shrieked and dropped the stained glass.

“Oh my! Wow!”I turned away and thenforcedmyself to look back at her.“Those look pretty nice, especially for your age.”

She continued to hold up her sweater, now shimmying her chest.“I fed four babies with these knockers. That idiot didn’t know what he was talking about.”

“Damn straight!”

She pushed her sweater down, searching for something.“Any plans on where you’re going to put it?”

“I’m not sure. I live in the loft above the hardware store, so I feel bad putting it in my window because it might compete with their sign.”

She grabbed a rag to dust the frame while I braced it on my body.“You can certainly take up space if you live there. And if I may suggest, the owner might know how to hang it safely.”She winked and put the cloth down on the ladder.

“What if I look like some damsel asking for help?”

"Nonsense! What fuels a man is being helpful, dear. The sooner you know that the better you can put him to use. Get to it, honey!"She plucked a blunt from somewhere in her poof of hair, putting it in her mouth as she walked out her back door with amischievousgiggle.

I exited All Booked Up and made my way across the street. An older gentleman ran to open the door for me from inside Kouris Hardware.“Thank you!”I said, giving him agratefulnod as Kizzy sniffed the frame in curiosity.

“What can I help you with today?” he asked good-naturedly.

Carson’s voice came out of nowhere. “Hank, this is Rosie. She lives upstairs.”He tried to play it cool, but his whole face seemed less stern while looking at me.

“Oh, one of the witches!”Hank exclaimed with a clap, his arms sweeping against his puffer vest.“I need to visit you over there. I heard about a Red Eye drink I want to try.”

Carson took the frame and sat it on the counter as I launched into small talk with Hank. Kiszka joined us, snaking in between my legs for pets.

Although I had lived above it for weeks, I had yet to visit the store itself. The back door I used led to my loft on one side, Carson’s office on the other, with swinging doors to the sales floor directly across. But I hadn’t explored.

The store was tidy, with hardwood floors and one big desk instead of multiple registers. Behind it, photos of the Kouris family hung in frames along with news articles. A flag for the United States and Greece hung, along with a rainbow pride one, which made me smile. A sign advertising live worms for bait made that smile disappear seconds later. Customers shuffled around, all talking to each other good-naturedly while classic rock musicplayedfrom speakers. Honestly, for being an alleged grump, Carson’s store was welcoming.

After a lull in my conversation with Hank, I saw Carson holding a drill and a ladder on his shoulder.

“You ready?”he asked.

“Oh, is that to hang it?”I gestured, picking up the framed stained glass.

He nodded and walked towards the back. Whatkind ofman efficiencywas this? We didn’t talk about my plan! But a part of me liked this, though, this wholedoingmore than asking thing he had going for him.

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