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Untapped Books & Café @untappedwilliamsburg ∙ July 16

Closing early tonight for a private event, but come on in tomorrow to check out the best selection of books & cold craft brews in Williamsburg! #books #craftbeer #privateparty

Parker surveyed the crowded café. “I can’t believe you pulled this off,” he said. It was extremely late on Tuesday night—or more accurately, very early on Wednesday morning. Untapped Books & Café had three times as many people crammed inside as it normally had on a busy Saturday night. We were all there to celebrate Parker’s twenty-fifth birthday.

I didn’t know how Izzy managed it all. She’d thrown a hugely successful surprise party for Parker with only a few days to set everything up. She’d handled everything, from convincing Todd to close early and let us have the space to tracking down Parker’s roommates and friends who were scattered as far away as Jersey. She even ordered a Limoncello cake, just like he wanted.

Todd had brought his new girlfriend, the woman with the Irish accent he’d met on Tinder. She was glued to his side all night. I’d accidentally walked in on them making out in the hall when I’d stepped out to use the bathroom. I retreated hastily, considering using the emergency eye wash station in the kitchen to scrub that scene out of my brain.

The birthday boy in question had a cold bottle of Pour Williamsburg in one hand and his other arm looped over Hazel’s shoulders. “I helped,” she said, grinning. Izzy had roped her in on the surprise party plan, and she’d made sure to get Parker back to the café without him ever suspecting a thing.

I think I was gonna like Hazel. I still wasn’t convinced that she was good enough for my friend Parker—I wasn’t sure any woman was—but she laughed at his corny jokes and praised his culinary genius, so she couldn’t be all bad. Plus, she made him happy.

Speaking of happy couples, even though they’d worked out their problems, Izzy had gone to the party stag. “It’s a shame Vincent couldn’t come. He should be with us, celebrating closing Vickie’s case.”

“He wanted to be here, he did. But, you know, paperwork. Apparently that’s the reward for bringing in a murderer. Frankly, I don’t see why Vince gets to take all the credit when we did all the work!”

“I know, right?” I said, but she could tell I was joking. I was perfectly happy with Castillo getting the credit. I wasn’t comfortable being in the spotlight.

“Are you sure you have to leave?” Parker asked me. “It’s early.”

“It’s past three in the morning,” I protested. But I knew he wasn’t really talking about the party anymore.

While I’d been busy trying to solve Vickie’s murder and help Izzy plan Parker’s surprise party, I’d run out of time to find alternative living arrangements. I’d worn out my welcome at my aunt’s apartment. She’d even taken the liberty of printing out a Greyhound ticket and leaving it on the counter where I’d be sure to see it. Maybe if I had another week or two, Izzy could have found us an apartment, but that ship had sailed. It was time to go back home to Piney Island. “And I’ve got a bus to catch in a few hours.”

At least I’d spent my last night in Williamsburg surrounded by friends. I couldn’t ask for much more than that.

“Odessa . . .” Parker said, but I stopped him.

“Dude, don’t make this any harder than it has to be. Besides, we have internet in Louisiana. We can FaceTime anytime you want.”

It wouldn’t be the same, of course. But now that I’d gotten a taste of New York, no place else would ever be quite enough for me. I’d go back to Louisiana and get my old job back at the Crawdad Shack. I’d save every penny until I could afford to return to Williamsburg and move in with Izzy. It might take me a few months, but I’d be back.

I took one last look around the room. Silvia and Emilie had pushed three tables together for beer pong and were currently beating Parker’s roommates, Suz and Tony. Kim, Betty, and Nan were cheering them on.

Todd and his date were nowhere to be seen. I didn’t want to think about what that meant.

Gennifer and her husband, Pete, were there, too. His mom was watching the baby, which was probably a good thing because it was very late and the music was loud enough that the tenants that lived above the café would be well within their rights to complain. Adding a screaming baby into the mix wouldn’t have been good. It turned out that Pete and Parker were distant cousins or something. Small world.

Gennifer saw me staring and waved. I waved back.

“Yo!” Andre called as I started up the stairs toward the bookstore section of Untapped. Tonight, after all this time, I’d finally gotten to meet his boyfriend, Trey. He was Andre’s polar opposite—a quiet, reserved wallflower. Then again, it was hard to get a word in edgewise while Andre was around, so they were a perfect match. “Where do you think you’re going, young lady?”

“Home,” I said. My heart sank a little when I realized I meant Piney Island.

He thrust his phone at me. “Have you seen this?”

On the screen was Huckleberry, flopped over on his back, surrounded by a mess of books. The caption read, “When you’ve had one too many.”

“Wait, there’s more,” Andre said, and scrolled down. The same picture appeared, but this time it said, “Mondays be like.” He scrolled through picture after picture of Huckleberry, each with a pithy caption. “You did it, Odessa. You created a meme. And you even managed to get the Untapped logo in the window. Good job, girl.” He pulled me into a hug. “Gonna miss you.”

“Me, too,” I said. I had to get out of here before I made a fool of myself and ruined Parker’s birthday with a waterworks display. “I’ll be back,” I promised.

I hoped I meant it.

“Come on, Odessa. It’s late. I’ll walk you home,” Izzy offered.

I waved at everyone and hurried out into the night. The door closed behind us with a tinkle of bells.

“I wish you would have let me invite Raleigh,” Izzy said as we walked.

“Thanks, but that would have been weird. It was Parker’s birthday party, and the two of them don’t even really know each other.”

“Duh, I wasn’t inviting him for Parker. I would have invited him for you.”

I shook my head. “Raleigh’s a nice guy, but I’m not interested in him. I’m glad I got to be with y’all tonight instead of making awkward small talk with a guy I barely know.” We paused at the corner, waiting for a break in traffic or the crosswalk light, whichever came first. “You really do throw an amazing party,” I told her, a little too loudly. I’d been shouting all night to be heard over the crowd and the music, and I hadn’t yet adjusted my volume.

“I couldn’t let my best friend leave Williamsburg without a proper send-off, could I?” she asked.

“Tonight was supposed to be Parker’s night,” I reminded her.

“He didn’t mind sharing.”

“You really don’t have to walk me home, you know.”

“I know that.” Izzy linked her arm with mine as we crossed the street.

A man in a gorilla suit jogged past us from the other direction. “Man, he’s gotta be hot,” I mused. Then I realized I wasn’t even startled at seeing a grown man dressed like a gorilla running down a sidewalk at three in the morning.

That’s my Williamsburg.

The short walk—I’d been in New York long enough to consider three quarters of a mile a short walk, I realized with amazement—was over too quickly and we soon found ourselves looking up at my aunt’s apartment building. Like many of the buildings in Williamsburg, it had started out as a warehouse before it was gutted and converted to high-end apartment units. The lobby was dim. Earl the grumpy concierge had gone home hours ago.

I unlocked the front door and stood there awkwardly, one foot propping it open. I didn’t know how to say goodbye to Izzy. It might be a while before I could save enough money to move back to Brooklyn. At least I had Brandon the Game Master’s trial to look forward to, since I had to return to New York to testify against him.

“Well? What are you waiting for?” Izzy asked, pulling the door all the way open and squeezing past me into the building.

“You don’t have to walk me all the way to my door,” I protested.

“Might as well,” she said, crossing the lobby and punching the button to call the elevator.

“You staying at Vincent’s tonight?” I asked her. The last time I’d assumed she had a place to stay, she’d actually been crashing in the stockroom. Which, technically, was a place to stay. Just not a very good one. I’d feel better if I knew she had someplace safe to live until I got back, and I couldn’t think of any place safer than a cop’s apartment.

“Yeah, but I don’t know when he’ll be home. Between his full-time job and moonlighting as security, I hardly ever see him even when I’m not dodging him.”

“What’s his apartment like?” I asked, bracing myself for another horror story.

“Not bad. Small. Really small. There’s almost always someone couch-surfing in his living room, so he’s got, like, zero privacy. This week, it’s that giant guy Myke. He got evicted when his building went condo, and he’s staying with Vince until something permanent comes along.”

I dug through my bag and pulled out Marlie’s card. “Tell him to call Marlie and have her pass along my discount to him.”

“Discount?” she asked.

“She said she’d waive her broker’s fee. Unless you want it?”

“No thanks. I’m sure something will pan out soon.”

I nodded. I wish something had come up sooner, but I guess it wasn’t meant to be. That was okay. Williamsburg wasn’t going anywhere. “You should talk to Silvia, see if she’s looking for a roommate. Commuting from Queens every day is wearing her down.”

“I might do that,” Izzy said, waiting for me to unlock the door.

“I’m surprised you don’t want to stay with Vincent permanently.”

Izzy shrugged. “I like him, but it’s way too early in our relationship to talk about moving in together. Besides, he snores.”

“Out of all the things you’ve put up with in the past, having a cute roommate that snores is hardly a blip on your radar.”

“Tell me about it,” she said. “When I was little, before we moved out to Staten Island, my parents had an apartment above a pet store in Jersey City. All night long, those puppies would bark and howl and the birds would squawk. But that wasn’t the worst of it. A fourteen-foot-long albino boa constrictor escaped one day and somehow ended up in our bathroom. I’ve never heard my dad scream so loud in my entire life.” She giggled at the memory. “But at least the snake didn’t snore.”

I had assumed that my aunt’s apartment would be dark and quiet, but to my surprise, when I opened the door, the lights were on in the tiny kitchen and the overcrowded living room. Rufus ran to greet me, purring loudly as he made a figure eight between my legs, begging to be picked up. I obliged, burying my hands in his curly fur.

Aunt Melanie was awake, reading a book with a glass of wine in her hand as she sat on the couch in her robe. “You’re home early,” she said. “I wasn’t expecting you until later.”

“Later?” I asked. “It’s well past three in the morning.” I pried off my cowboy boots and sank down onto the couch next to her.

I knew Aunt Melanie wasn’t the typical aunt. She never retired to bed before midnight unless she was sick, she was fiercely independent even when her foot was in a cast, and she was extraordinarily gracious to have put me up for so long. I thought she’d asked me to come watch her cat and her apartment as a favor to her, but I’d since come to realize that this had been for my benefit all along. She’d used her trip as a chance for me to get out of Louisiana for a while and see a part of the world I’d never elsewise have a chance to experience.

Aunt Melanie laughed at my answer and set her wineglass on the coffee table in front of her, next to a statue I hadn’t seen before. “You’re young and in New York City. Enjoy every minute while you can.”

“Good advice. Is this new?” I asked, picking up the statue to get a better look at it. It was heavy, a two-foot-high ceramic piece depicting a three-headed monster covered in emerald and teal green scales. Its eyes—nine of them in total—glittered like rubies and its two tails had suction cups on the underside like an octopus’s tentacles.

“Actually, it’s old. I made this when I was about your age, I think. It’s been buried in my studio for decades. Found it while I was cleaning.”

“I’m glad you found it and dusted it off,” I said, being careful to place it back in exactly the same position that I had found it. I relaxed back on the couch next to my aunt. “It’s cool. Hey, why are you cleaning your studio? Starting a new project? Wanna talk about it?”

Aunt Melanie glanced over my shoulder at Izzy before looking back at me. “Actually, I haven’t worked on anything new in a while. I thought this trip to Europe would inspire me, shake something free, but all I brought back was . . .” She motioned to her walking boot. “I think I need a change of scenery.”

“What? You’re not moving out of Williamsburg, are you?” I asked. It was hard enough leaving tomorrow knowing that I’d always have a place to stay if I needed to when I scraped up enough money to return, but if my aunt moved, what would I do then?

She chuckled. “No, not that. But I think it might be good to relocate my studio. There’s a great shared space overlooking the river where I can work surrounded by other artists, and we can inspire and encourage each other every day.”

“That sounds amazing,” I said. “I can’t wait to see what you create next. You’ll have to send me photos. Or we can always Skype.”

“About that.” My aunt glanced at Izzy again. “Once I move my studio, I’m going to have a spare bedroom. The new space is wonderful, but it’s an added expense every month. I might have to take on a roommate just to make fiscal sense. And it wouldn’t hurt to have an extra pair of hands around here.” She winked at Izzy.

My face lit up and I turned to Izzy. “This is your new apartment? How wonderful!”

I couldn’t have been happier for Izzy if she’d won the lotto. She deserved a nice, safe place to live. A real place to call her own, that wasn’t overrun with mice or accessed only by a broken fire escape. A place where she could have a real bed—not some ratty old sleeping bag—and hang up her own curtains. A place where she didn’t have to fear eviction or worry about some horrible roommate beating her up in the middle of the night and stealing all her stuff. A place with a working elevator.

Izzy nodded, and I jumped up and gave her a big bear hug. “This is so extra!” I continued to gush. I turned to my aunt. “You’re going to love living with Izzy. She’s an amazing cook, and she always picks up after herself. Rufus adores her, and she’s the ideal roommate.”

“I’m glad you think so,” my aunt said. “Because you’ll be sharing the room with her.”

Goose bumps sprouted on my arms. “Wait, what?”

“Man, Odessa, you can be so dense sometimes. I told you to trust me, didn’t I?”

“Wait, this was your plan all along?” Izzy nodded. I turned to Aunt Melanie. “But the bus ticket? You made it pretty clear that you wanted me to leave.”

My aunt flapped a dismissive hand in my direction. “If we’re going to live together, we need to learn how to communicate better. I thought you wanted to leave. I’d hoped you’d stay, especially when Izzy came to me with her idea, but this had to be your decision. The bus ticket was there to give you an option so you didn’t feel like you were trapped here.”

“Trapped? In Williamsburg? Don’t be ridiculous!” I exclaimed. My head was dizzy with the possibilities.

“What do you say, roomie?” Izzy asked. “You and me, splitting everything down the middle. We could build a shelf for our cornhole trophy, once the police release it from evidence. I’ll print out our photo from the escape room, and we can frame it and hang it on our wall.”

I couldn’t help myself, I jumped up and down in place for a minute before realizing it was incredibly late and the downstairs neighbors were probably trying to sleep. “Yes!” I screeched.

“I don’t know,” Izzy said, shaking her head sadly as she addressed my aunt. “I was legit hoping she would be more enthusiastic.”

I punched her playfully in the arm. “Are you kidding? I’m so happy, I could kiss the cat!” Then I scooped up Rufus and proceeded to place a big wet smooch on the end of his nose. “I have to call my mom!” I whipped out my cell phone and started dialing.

My mother answered the phone, sounding frantic. “Odessa? What is it? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong, Ma.”

“Do you have any idea what time it is?”

Yikes. “Oh, sorry about waking you.” After two months in New York, I’d already adjusted to the city’s habit of going to bed late and sleeping in late, but I had to admit that it was way too early—or too late, depending on how I looked at it—to be making phone calls. “I just have the best news!”

“You can tell me all about it when you get home,” my mother insisted. In the background, I could hear my father’s sleepy voice asking what was wrong.

“But I’m not going back to Piney Island.” A huge grin broke out on my face. “I’m staying right here, in Williamsburg.”

My mother sighed on the other end of the phone. I heard her bedsprings squeak as she sat up. “Odessa, don’t be silly. Your family’s waiting for you.”

“That’s just it, Ma,” I said. I squeezed Izzy’s hand.

Tomorrow, instead of traipsing to the bus stop in the wee hours of the morning boarding the first Greyhound heading south, I was going to sleep until noon, then walk the eleven blocks to Untapped Books & Café and beg Todd to give me my job back. Then I was gonna eat breakfast in the café, utilizing my employee discount to treat myself to whatever Parker was cooking. I’d take a coffee to go and wander through Domino Park until it got too warm, and then I’d come back to my aunt’s apartment—my apartment, I corrected myself—and take a dip in the rooftop pool. “I’ve found a wonderful family here, and I am home.”

#TheEnd