I crashed hard that night after the stress and insomnia of the last few days. If Goodfellow did whistle in the night, I wouldn’t have heard anything. It wasn’t very often I slept that heavily, but I’d obviously needed it. If I hadn’t been woken up by my phone ringing when the sun had only just come up, I might’ve caught up on some sleep. Bloody typical.
Barely processing, and with my eyes still closed, I grabbed my phone without looking at caller ID. ‘Hello?’ I said with a yawn.
‘Hi, Niamh. It’s Mrs Brightman’s lawyer here. Sorry if I woke you. I just wanted to let you know that all the paperwork has gone through. Mrs Brightman’s property and all her assets now belong to you. The money should be in your account within a few days.’
It was a good job I was still in bed. I wasn’t ready to process all of that. So much had happened lately I still hadn’t fully accepted she was gone, or allowed myself to feel the pain of losing one of my closest friends.
Sure, I could’ve summoned her. But, whether I liked it or not, she’d crossed over. She wasn’t meant to talk to us anymore. We broke the rules enough with Javi and my mother already. Summoning Mrs Brightman just so that I could talk to her again wouldn’t help me move on and was unfair on her when she was trying to enjoy her afterlife.
‘Thanks for letting me know,’ I said.
She said I could go pick up the keys any time, although I was in no rush as I had my own set anyway.
I lay back in bed, listening to Edie and Tilly going through their morning routines downstairs. It was comforting to know some things hadn’t changed.
Instead of doing the responsible thing and getting up, I rolled over and pulled the duvet over my head. It wasn’t an adulting day. Edie was old enough to sort her own breakfast and I was drained enough to need more sleep.
*
Ben and I had arranged to go out to lunch, so I dragged myself out of bed half an hour before I had to leave, made myself look human, and met him outside the library just past twelve. ‘Hey, you,’ he said, pecking me on the lips.
I kissed him back, then wrapped my arms around him. If I was holding on to him, I could walk around with my eyes closed and get a few moments of relief. Perfect.
‘What’s wrong?’ he said, hugging me back.
I leaned my head on his shoulder, not wanting the hug to end. I needed the closeness of someone calm and understanding. ‘Mrs Brightman’s stuff was finalised today.’
He rubbed my back. ‘At least it’s over now.’
‘Yeah, I suppose.’ I moved my head to his chest, trying to avoid the zip of his coat so that it didn’t dig into my face. ‘But it’s not really, is it?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I’ve still got to redecorate her house and decide what to do with it. Do I want to sell it? Move in to it? How do I decide? It’s such a lovely house, it’d be a shame to sell it. But I like where we are now.’
Ben held on to me as we walked over to the cafe we were visiting for lunch. ‘Why don’t you focus on something smaller before deciding what you do?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Before you sell it, you have to give it a bit of a facelift, right?’
I snorted. ‘It needs more than a facelift. It needs gutting.’
‘Well then. Why don’t you start with the necessary work that needs doing? Focus on the smaller tasks first, then you might figure out what to do as you go.’
‘That’s a surprisingly good idea.’
He chuckled. ‘You don’t have to sound so shocked I came up with it.’
‘Not shocked, impressed.’ I flashed him a flirtatious smile, which he returned.
Occasionally I opened my eyes to see where we were going, but I instantly regretted it because it was too bright, even through my sunglasses, so I clutched on to Ben and used him as a walking aid instead. ‘How’s your headache?’
‘I’ve become the ginger Jackie O. With a less refined fashion sense.’
Ben laughed. ‘I think you look great in those giant sunglasses.’
‘Thanks,’ I said, unsure if his compliment was sincere. I’d take it anyway. ‘Either way, these are the only thing I’ve got to make the world less bright. Just having my eyes open is painful. Is it always this bright in December?’
‘There does seem to be less cloud cover than usual,’ said Ben.
‘Typical,’ I grumbled.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘Do you think it’s because you’re not sleeping? Or the sound Goodfellow makes?’
‘Both? Lack of sleep causes headaches, right? And that noise goes right through me. It kind of…lingers, if you get me?’
‘Yeah, I get you,’ said Ben, rubbing my hand.
We crossed the road on to the pedestrianised high street, walking across the uneven cobbles that I was even more aware of with my eyes closed. They really didn’t feel nice under the thin soles of my boots. ‘How’s Fadil?’
‘Snotty,’ said Ben. ‘It’s his first cold. At least in this millennia. He’s handling it fairly well all things considered.’
‘He’s resilient that’s for sure. How many boxes of tissues has he got through?’
‘Roughly one per day. Edie gave him some moisturiser because the skin on his nose was starting to peel from all the tissues.’
‘Ouch,’ I said.
‘Yes,’ agreed Ben. We reached the cafe and Ben held the steamed-up glass door open for me. I really, really hoped the cafe was quiet and there were no noises that could make my headache even worse.
*
‘Thanks for lunch, I needed that,’ I said, kissing Ben on the cheek as we left the cafe. My head still hurt, but the food and company had been a welcome distraction for an hour.
‘Me too.’ He put his arm around my waist as we headed back to the library. He glanced over his shoulder at the vacant shop in town, a sad expression washing over him. Had he changed his mind about turning it into a bookshop?
‘Shall we go take a look?’ I said, trying to guide him back to it.
‘No,’ he said, standing his ground and refusing to turn around.
‘Why not?’
He stopped walking and sighed. ‘I’ve decided not to bother with the bookshop. It was a dumb idea. I never should’ve considered it to begin with.’
I tried to stop him from walking, to turn him around, but he kept going as if driven by a motor. ‘What are you talking about? It’s a great idea! This town could do with a decent bookshop.’
‘Well then it won’t be owned by me.’
‘But—’
‘Drop it, would you?’ His tone was stern, like he’d made his mind up and nobody was changing it.
‘What’s got into you?’
‘Forget it.’ He let go of my hand, charging off back to the library.
What was that about?
I contemplated following him, but thought giving him time to cool off might be better. Whatever was going on with him, he obviously needed time to process it alone first.
Since we were headed in the same direction, I lingered for a moment, giving him time to return to the library before I walked home.
Once he’d disappeared inside, on autopilot, I walked through the graveyard beside the library. It was oddly quiet without Thomas there. Even spookier than usual, despite the fact there was no one else around.
‘Niamh!’ said Thomas, bouncing up to me as I walked through our front door. Tilly also jumped up at me to say hello. Spectre stared from above the coffee table.
‘Hey, Thomas.’
I picked Tilly up and sat on the sofa, stroking behind her fluffy white ear.
‘What’s wrong?’ said Thomas. He hover sat on the space beside me.
‘Ben just went really weird when we were talking about something I thought he wanted to do. I’m confused.’
‘Did he change his mind?’
I tapped my foot against the sofa. ‘Maybe. But why? What caused the U-Turn? He was so excited!’
Thomas shrugged. ‘There’s only one person who can tell you what Ben is thinking.’
‘Yeah, but I’m not sure he’s ready to talk just yet.’
‘He might just need processing time, especially if he’s changed his mind,’ suggested Thomas.
I stopped tapping the sofa and rubbed Tilly’s back. ‘If he takes too long to process the opportunity will be lost.’
‘If he’s decided against it anyway, will he care?’
*
Still confused about what had happened with Ben, I went to Mrs Brightman’s house. Now my house. It felt wrong to call it that, but it wasn’t like she had a use for it anymore. And, based on what Javi had said, she was perfectly happy in the afterlife with her husband. That was comforting but didn’t change how much I missed her.
I walked into the living room, examining the top edges of the cream floral wallpaper. It was peeling in the corners, although not as bad as you might’ve expected from something that old. Chances were the wallpaper was probably hiding a wall that needed replastering, though.
Javi and I had worked so hard to earn enough to buy our own house. It’d been cheaper back then, but still meant a lot of savings and investments to get enough. And now, after all that struggle, I owned two houses.
Mrs Brightman’s house was in a slightly nicer area of town than mine, which added extra to the value. If I redecorated, I could get even more from it. A part of me didn’t want to sell it, though. I was still too attached to it.
I’d worry about that when I needed to.
I went into the kitchen, searching for some coffee to wake me up. It was tucked at the back of the cupboard, but still decent, so I made myself a cup, then put some in a paper towel and placed it in the fridge to absorb any smells.
Black coffee wasn’t my favourite, but I needed the caffeine.
I sat on the sofa, picturing Mrs Brightman sitting in her chair by the window. I’d spent hours on that sofa, talking to her about nothing and everything. It wasn’t the comfiest sofa, but that wasn’t what had mattered. It was the company I’d really cared about.
I sighed. Moving back to where I’d grown up was meant to make life easier. Instead, it’d messed everything up. I was divorced, one of my closest friends was dead, my daughter was a necromancer, and she was probably going to be a moving target for the rest of her life.
But good things had happened, too. I had to remember that. Maggie and I were friends again. Mrs Brightman may have only been in my life for a short while, but she’d been a close friend and she was happily reunited with her husband. Fadil had come into our lives and was a great friend to Edie, and I had Ben.
Ah yes. Ben. What was going on with him? Why had he changed his mind so quickly about the bookshop?
I took my phone from my handbag and realised Ben had texted me saying sorry. No explanation for his outburst, but at least he could acknowledge that he’d overreacted. Dan never would’ve done that.
Nope.
Stop, brain.
No comparing Ben and Dan. That was dangerous territory. They weren’t even comparable. Ben was way less selfish than Dan.
No, brain! That’s enough.
As I was arguing with myself, Ben rang me. I answered right away.
‘I’m really sorry,’ he said. ‘I shouldn’t have overreacted like that.’
‘You already apologised. But thank you.’
‘I know, but you didn’t reply and I was worried you hated me. And I wanted you to hear me say it. After I sent the text I realised it seemed like a hollow cop-out.’
My heart fluttered at how cute he was. ‘It didn’t.’
‘I don’t normally freak out like that. But I’ve decided not to open the bookshop. I hope you don’t mind?’
I was disappointed, but more for him than me. He’d seemed really excited. What had changed his mind? I really wanted to know, but if I forced him to open up, he probably never would. As much as I hated it, I had to respect his decision.
‘As long as you’re happy, that’s what matters to me,’ I said.
‘Thank you.’ There was a pause. Someone talked in the background. ‘Sorry, I’ve got to go. I snuck off to ring you. See you later?’
‘See you later.’