Chapter 5
Fiona slumped down in the plush blue chair in her apartment, relieved to be home. She knew she’d owe Lynn and Norm for locking herself out, but she’d deal with that tomorrow. For now, she needed to get ready for bed. She sighed. Even that seemed like it would take too much energy.
Her chair was velvet, and a deep midnight blue color. Most of her furniture was tattered and worn hand-me-downs, but this chair had been a celebratory splurge after getting her own place a few months back. She’d lived with her friend Mindy for over three years until Mindy got married and headed off to Denver. Fiona had worried about finding a place she could afford on her own, but now, she couldn’t imagine living with someone again.
Her apartment was roughly the size of a shoebox, but it was hers. The kitchen, dining room and living room were about the same size as her bedroom had been in Mindy’s condo. Tiny as it was, the place was dripping in charm. The apartment building was old and brick, and just around the corner from Telfair Square. Her tiny courtyard may have backed up to a parking lot, but beneath the shelter of a beautiful old southern live oak tree, it felt like a private garden.
The apartment had other quirks, too. The day Fiona had moved in, her neighbor, Muriel, brought her a potted lavender plant and a plate of shortbread cookies. After welcoming her to the block, Muriel’s deep brown eyes shone earnestly as she whispered, “Your apartment is haunted, you know.”
Fiona didn’t know what to make of that, though she’d learned that ghosts were very much a part of this city.
She hadn’t asked Muriel to elaborate. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know. Sure, things would go missing and pop up somewhere unexpected. Doors she could have sworn she’d closed would be wide open minutes later. Faint music would seem to come from everywhere and nowhere, but she always attributed it to Muriel.
Ghost or not, she felt at home here. Welcome. Invited. In both the city and her apartment.
A creak on the old wood floor behind her startled her out of her chair, which was just the push she needed to get up and get ready for bed. She removed her makeup, brushed her teeth, changed into an old pair of pajamas and climbed into bed.
Before she fell asleep, her thoughts drifted back to something she’d tossed around earlier that evening.
Porter and David needed servers for their restaurant.
Fiona had worked in restaurants for many years before going to beauty school, and she worked part-time in restaurants whenever she needed to pick up extra cash.
She rolled to her side, where she could see the moon just barely peeking behind the clouds. She didn’t mind the work. It’s just that going back to serving felt like a step back in time to her, to a time and place she thought she’d well left behind. But if it meant she could afford her own salon suite while she built a new business, it was something worth considering.
Fiona flipped off the light, reminding herself to call Stella and Cassie in the morning.