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I decided I needed to take control of my new life. I realized I'd been letting life control me. That had to stop. I didn't go into the cafe. It had run without me before, and I was sure it would be fine one more day. Upstairs, I changed into my pajamas, made myself a cup of Earl Grey and sat down on the sofa with my laptop and my pad of paper within reach.
If I could have one night without interruptions, I could put together a plan. I sent messages to Krista, Laura, my mom, and the guyumvirate to let them know I was going to be offline for the night—I wouldn't answer calls or messages. I thought my plan was foolproof.
First, I made a list of the broad categories that I needed to work on—the apartment, the cafe, cryptids, the convention. I took each page and made a detailed "to do" list underneath. When I'd put everything I could think of on the lists, I took a break. I walked around the apartment a couple of times and upgraded my drink to wine.
I had my four lists spread out on the coffee table. I'd just sat back down on the sofa to look over my lists and decide which one I was going to concentrate on first, when there was a knock on my door. Ah, the one flaw in my plan. I didn't say I wouldn't answer my door. I forgot that lots of people ate at Hairy's and, if they wanted to talk to me, they just walked up the stairs and knocked on my door.
I opened the door to find Laurie with a bottle of wine and a pint of ice cream. "I thought maybe the offline message was a cry for help," she said. "Wasn't sure if you were upset or angry, so I came prepared for either."
"Did you learn this at BFF finishing school?" I asked, motioning her inside.
We dipped up two dishes of ice cream, and I showed Laurie what I'd been working on. "I was feeling out of control," I explained. "I think I've managed to wrestle some order from the chaos that my life has become." Laurie picked up one of the sheets and started reading the list. "I should probably warn you, there are some tasks on there I'll be asking for your help with."
"Give me my assignments."
We talked about the things I wanted her help with. If your free on Saturday, I'm going to finish cleaning up the apartment. I need to go through all of Harry's stuff and decide what to do with it. I needed to make this space mine. Laurie agreed to help and, having seen that I wasn't in dire need of rescue, she headed out.
I decided on my plan of attack for morning and was putting the dishes in the dishwasher when there was another knock. I expected it to be Jim. Instead, it was Tom.
"I know you said you wanted some time to yourself, but I thought maybe you were upset about something. I know an awful lot has been dumped on you since you arrived. Plus, you have the stress of the move and a new job. I thought I should stop by and make sure you really were OK. If you are, just say so, and I'll leave you to your peace and quiet."
The air was cold outside, so during his speech, I'd pulled him inside and closed the door behind him. "It must be a Beckett family trait," I said. "Your sister just left. Thanks to her I can offer you wine or ice cream."
"No, thanks. I really just wanted to make sure you were OK." Is this what you've been working on?" he asked, picking up one of lists.
"Yeah. I'm trying to get things under control where I can," I said.
"Anything I can help with?"
"Probably, but I haven’t written down any assignments for you yet."
"I see one here for Laurie to help you sort through Harry's stuff on Saturday. Want more help?"
I gestured at the piles of books and papers around the room. "The more the merrier," I said.
He stood up to go. "I understand you need some time to yourself. I'll see you on Saturday. If you need me before that, just give me a call."
"Thanks, Tom. I appreciate your understanding."
He kissed me before he left. Once I recovered, I realized I'd need another list. Sometime soon, I needed to figure out how to deal with the guyumvirate. Even if I was interested in all three of them, I couldn't date them all for long before needing to make a choice. I wasn't ready to make that list just yet.