Cars always lined both sides of the street, and on nights he and his friends hung outside on the back deck, the scent of weed filled the air.
Shanice groaned quietly as she pulled up. Once again, he had lots of company over, forcing her to drive slowly to avoid hitting one of the cars. Two scantily clad women giggled as they ran up to his door arm-in-arm.
She pulled into the driveway and hit the garage door opener. As the door slowly rose, she watched the women in the rear-view mirror. A slender man opened the door from the inside, and she caught a glimpse of the foyer and a man and woman in a liplock near the stairs before the door closed again.
She couldn’t help being a little jealous. At least they had something to do on a Friday night. She parked her car next to Beatrice’s white Mercedes and entered the kitchen. Beatrice was in there wearing a silk robe, her gray hair tucked under a white silk night cap, one of at least ten she owned. She stood in front of the huge island in the middle of the spacious kitchen eating grapes in a bowl. Her Corgi, Charlie, looked quite relaxed—the opposite of his usual playful self—tucked under her left arm.
“Good night, Beatrice. Hey, Charlie.”
“Good night, hon,” Beatrice said, smiling fondly at her.
Beatrice was a godsend and treated Shanice like family. When Shanice started working for her at the bookstore and she learned that Shanice was staying at a motel, she offered to rent her a room in her house. The arrangement worked perfectly for Shanice.
Six weeks in, she’d learned a lot about her landlord. The older woman was wealthy, but The Bookish Attic was not where she made her money. The shop was a passion project.
As a young woman, she’d invested heavily in stocks, and over decades those stocks had appreciated. Coupled with a pension, she was a very rich woman living a comfortable life in her seventies.
“How was your day?” Shanice asked.
“Wonderful. Charlie had a good day, too. I took him with me when I went shopping at Merrick Park. I bought a couple of blouses at Ann Taylor. I’ll have to show them to you.”
“Definitely, I’d love to see them.”
“I also met one of my gal pals for an early dinner. How was your day?”
“Great.” Shanice picked two grapes from the bowl and popped them in her mouth. “We sold four of those coffee table books that are thirty-five dollars, but other than that, it was a normal day at the store.”
“I’m not just talking about the store, dear. I’m talking about you. The past few days you’ve seemed a bit off.”
“Oh.” Shanice averted her eyes and entered the walk-in pantry. “I have a lot on my mind, to be honest. But I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Shanice exited the pantry with a bag of sweet potato chips.
“Good, then I won’t feel guilty about leaving you again.”
“Where are you going now?” Shanice asked.
One of the benefits of living with Beatrice was that she and Charlie traveled often, which meant every week or two, Shanice had the house to herself for a few days.
“It’s a last-minute thing. You know Velma, my friend over at Shady Pines? Well, she and another friend were supposed to go on a cruise, but the friend backed out at the last minute. Can you believe that? I’m not surprised, though, since Velma admitted that her so-called friend had not yet paid for her part of the trip. I keep telling her she’s too kind to people and they’ll keep taking advantage of her. Anyway, she asked if I could take her friend’s place. Of course, I had nothing coming up or important to do, so I agreed. We leave day after tomorrow, on a cruise to South America. Charlie and I will be gone for two weeks.”
“Wow, that’s a long time.”
“It’s the longest I’ve been away since you moved in. Will you be all right?” She looked genuinely concerned, which warmed Shanice’s heart.
She touched Beatrice’s shoulder. “I’ll be fine. I’m just a little jealous. I want to be you when I grow up, able to drop everything and take a trip whenever I feel like it.” She sighed dramatically.
Beatrice laughed. “Follow my investment advice, and you’ll be able to, my dear.” She scooped up the bowl of grapes. “Have a good night.” Beatrice headed out of the kitchen.
“Good night,” Shanice called after her.
In the silence of the kitchen, she smiled. She was