Decadent Demise

by Stephanie Damore

  "Claire, do you have any more pecan pies?" Ellen hollered back to me.

  "Not unless they preordered it," I said, scratching my forehead in thought. Being busy was a good problem to have, I reminded myself. However, being stressed out over work was not.

  "You need a break, Love," Nick whispered in my ear. My husband's paranormal popping in was just the break I needed. It sent a smile on my face.

  "I would offer to give you a shoulder massage if I could," he said as I rubbed my shoulders and stretched out my neck.

  "Oh, trust me, I know you would," I replied. Nick had always been good about taking care of me and reminding me that I should do the same.

  "You know, you really need to hire some extra help," Nick offered.

  "I know. It's on my to-do list along with a million other things. Have you been upstairs?" My apartment was seriously in need of some TLC. "The radiator isn't working right. The toilet is leaking. I swear the hot water heater is about to take a dive and possibly the refrigerator right along with it. The milk was not even cold this morning." I liked to pride myself in being handy, but there just wasn't enough time to tackle all the projects upstairs and run the bakery downstairs.

  "Well, if you take a peek at the front of the house, I think you might have a new employee," Nick said.

  "What? What are you talking about?" I moved around to the front and looked through the door. Nick was right. Amelia had gotten to work clearing off tables and wiping them down while Margaret entertained Jacob with a sugar cookie and Ellen rang up another order.

  I was dumbfounded. That was awfully sweet for Amelia to step up and offer us a hand. I went out and told her as much.

  "You're not by chance looking for a job, are you?" I asked tentatively.

  "Actually, I am."

  "You are?" I couldn't help it, my eyes lit up.

  "I have experience, too. Up until last week, I was a waitress at the Big Boy in Cadillac. You can even call my old boss if you want to chat with her," Amelia offered.

  "Don't worry about that, I've seen enough. Even if you're able to help out a couple days a week, we would love to have you." I looked back at Ellen. She nodded vigorously.

  "Yeah, absolutely. When would you like me to start?" Amelia asked.

  "How about tomorrow? Is that enough time?" I asked.

  "It should be." Amelia looked back to her mom. "She already agreed to watch Jacob a couple days a week for me. I just can't believe I found a job this quick. Thank you so much."

  "Whenever you can start, just let me know. I'm here every morning at five."

  Amelia's eyes got wide at that. Truthfully, it was more like four in the morning, or lately I'd bake until after midnight and then come back down a few hours later. Tonight it was going to be an all-nighter. No wonder I was dead on my feet.

  "But Ellen gets here at seven o'clock to start stocking the display,” I continued. “We really don't pick up with customers until after eight. So any time after that?"

  "That's totally doable. Let's plan on tomorrow," Amelia said.

  "Sounds good. Just call me if that doesn't work, okay?"

  Amelia promised she would, and the trio left shortly after that.

  2

  I thought closing time was never going to arrive, that's how crazy the day had been. I felt dead on my feet, much like my dearly departed husband. Something was going to have to give. Ellen and I both had kept an eye on the clock, and it was almost a race to lock the door as soon as the clock struck six. Of course, we still had a couple of customers lingering, finishing their lattes and the last of their treats, but I was tempted to ask them to wrap things up. Six o'clock had always been the latest we stayed open, even though I considered pushing that to eight. There was just no way to stay open late tonight and fill tomorrow's orders; even with the added help of Amelia starting tomorrow.

  "I'm staying," Ellen had announced earlier in the afternoon. I had been restocking the coffee bar and turned to look at her to see what she meant, confusion evident on my face.

  "After we close. I'm going to stay and help you clean everything up."

  “Are you sure? You seriously don't have to. I know you have to be exhausted."

  "No more than you, dear. Besides, it's my fault that you have a mess back there in the first place. Let me work on cleaning that up while you focus on baking."

  It was a generous offer and one that I was happy to accept. Maybe, just maybe, with the two of us working together after hours, I would be able to fix what had been ruined and get tomorrow's orders complete. It would be close.

  "How about I run over to Carol’s and grab a couple of bar burgers and fries?" I offered up.

  "That sounds good. I'll keep an eye on things here and when you get back, we can hurry up and eat and then get to work." I almost laughed at Ellen's expression after she realized what she said. We had been “getting to work” all day.

  Carol's, the neighborhood bar, was just down the street. Everything in Bleu Clair Bay was just down the street or around the corner. The only difference was if you turned left or right. Before stepping outside, I pulled on my crocheted mittens, zipped up my fleece coat, and pulled up the hood. When you lived in northern Michigan, you couldn't base your outerwear by the date on the calendar. Winter wouldn't officially arrive for another four weeks, but we had already experienced a visit from Jack Frost at the end of October. The only question was how long would he stay? It wasn't unheard of for snow to fall in April, making all the locals groan as we shoveled and iced our sidewalks once more.

  Milo meowed at me from the back stairway. I felt like a horrible pet owner with how busy I had been lately. I bent down to where he was perched on the bottom step and scratched under his chin with my gloved finger. He rubbed his chin on it, and the stairway filled with his purrs.

  "Sorry for ignoring you earlier, buddy. You were just trying to tell me about the fire, weren't you?" Milo responded with a knowing meow.

  "I'm sorry. I'll bring you back a special treat, okay?" Milo gave another meow that told me he approved. "I'll be right back."

  Milo stood on the bottom step and licked his lips in anticipation. He was one smart kitty.

  Even though I knew it was cold outside, the rush of wind still caused me to shiver. I grabbed the collar of my fleece coat and held it even closer to me, tucking my head down and making my way as quickly as I could up the street to Carol's. It was already quite dark outside. In July, the sun didn’t set until after ten o'clock, but in November, it slipped below the horizon just after five, making for long, cold nights.

  "You are absolutely ridiculous!" shouted a woman from across the street. I snapped my head up and looked in her direction. It was Felicity, Edward's girlfriend, and at that moment, she wasn't too happy with him. He stood casually across from her with his hands in his trench coat pockets, shoulders back while she let into him.

  "I am done. So done. I can't believe I even moved to this Podunk town for you in the first place. You are the most unappreciative jerk that I have ever let into my life. I am not doing this anymore. We're through."

  Edward actually had the audacity to laugh in Felicity's face as if she was the most amusing thing he had ever seen.

  He shooed her away with his hand. "Go on then, leave. I honestly don't care," he said with a shrug of his shoulders, and I had to truly believe he meant it.

  "UGH!" Felicity raised her hand, and I thought she was going to smack him. He definitely deserved it, but she threw her hand in her coat pocket and turned on her heel instead, marching away from Edward and into the night. Edward caught my eye from across the street and gave me a dark, knowing look. I turned my attention back to the street and picked up the pace the rest of the way to the bar.

  By the time Ellen was done cleaning that night, it was just after eight o'clock. I had managed to make a dent in re-baking what had been ruined, but I still had all of tomorrow's orders to fill. I yawned and turned to put a fresh pot of coffee on. I mistakenly grabbed the can of decaf, but th
ankfully noticed my error before starting the machine.

  "That's no good," I said to Milo.

  "You need a nap, babe," Nick said, appearing beside me.

  "Tell me about it." I rubbed my face. "But if I fall asleep now, I'll be even further behind tomorrow. I'll feel better if I just push through and get everything done tonight. There'll be time to sleep when I'm dead." I winked at Nick, but he didn't smile at my joke.

  Apparently, Milo didn't find me amusing either. He meowed disapprovingly from his step.

  "Give me a break, guys,” I instructed the men in my life. “Amelia starts tomorrow and hopefully everything will settle down."

  Milo turned and gave a flick of his tail.

  "Do you want me to tuck you in?" I asked my fur ball.

  Milo looked lovingly over his shoulder, and I was pretty sure that meant yes.

  "Just give me a second and I'll come up," I said.

  Milo meowed in protest. A second was apparently too long.

  "Okay, okay. I'm coming." I double-checked that I had loaded the coffee maker with the correct brew and switched it on. When I reached the stairs, I bent down to pick up my brown tabby. I learned early on that it was much safer to carry Milo on the stairs than to have him trip me.

  The knock on the back door came just as we reached the top of the stairs. I stopped and listened again, seriously hoping that slime ball Edward wasn't making an after-hours visit. I did not want to deal with him at the moment.

  "Claire, are you home?"

  I recognized the voice. It was Mike Rogers, our now infamous county commissioner.

  I looked to Nick and Milo to see what they thought.

  Milo replied with a questioning meow. Nick shrugged his shoulders.

  Yeah, I wasn't sure I wanted to answer the door either.

  "I have a favor to ask. Please?" Mike sounded desperate.

  I hesitated.

  "It will just take a second. I promise."

  I tried to remind myself that Mike had been a good friend of my dad's. Even if he was making horrible choices lately.

  "Please Claire?" Well, now he just sounded pathetic.

  "Hang on, Mike, I'll be right there." I put Milo down and poured some kibble into his bowl to hopefully keep him happy until I could come back upstairs and tuck him in. Milo looked at the bowl and then back at me as if to ask, Is that it? Yes, he was a spoiled kitty.

  "I'll give you a treat later, okay?"

  Milo flicked his tail and cast a dirty look over his shoulder in my direction as he sauntered over to his bowl.

  "Mike, what can I do for you?" I asked as I opened the back door.

  "Sorry for stopping in so late. I wanted to come in earlier, but I had a feeling the environment would be a little hostile." Mike brushed snow off his tan business coat and onto the floor. I hadn't even realized it had begun to snow outside, if that told you how engrossed I was in my work.

  "Well, you would be right about that," I said, not bothering to hide the disappointment in my voice.

  "Trust me, I am getting it from all sides. Even Tonya won't speak to me."

  "Honestly, Mike, I don't blame her. She stopped in here earlier today, and people were pretty cold to her."

  "She did? She didn't tell me that." Mike looked as if his heart was about to break. "Well, just so you know, I'm trying to make it right."

  "You are?" I asked.

  "Mr. Slayden agreed to meet me tonight. I'm headed there next, but first, I was wondering if you could help me?"

  I tilted my head to the side, wondering how I could help the commissioner. "What do you need?" I asked tentatively.

  "Pies. Two of them—pumpkin and pecan? If you could even do just one of them, it would be a huge step in getting me out of the doghouse."

  "Tonya said your family was joining you for Thanksgiving," I said.

  "They are, and she's just fretting about it left and right."

  I debated, but only for a second. "Okay, I'll help you out, but only because I feel bad for Tonya."

  Mike cast his glance down. I touched his arm. "I really hope you talk some sense into Edward."

  "So do I."

  We were both silent for a minute.

  "Well, I better get going. It's getting pretty slick out there," Mike said.

  "Drive safe, okay? You can pick up the pies tomorrow."

  "Thanks, Claire. I really appreciate it."

  I saw Mike out and then surveyed the bakery. It was time to get to work. Again.

  But first, I had a kitty to put to bed.

  3

  The sound of emergency vehicle sirens woke me up. I didn't even remember walking up the steps and climbing into bed, but I knew it had to have been late, or early, depending on your perspective. I had been baking with my eyes closed.

  But now I was wide awake, thanks to the sirens. I couldn't believe it was already after four o'clock in the morning. I needed to get to work soon.

  I lay in bed with my eyes open, listening. Milo continued to snooze, curled up behind my bent knees.

  Another emergency vehicle sped past. This time, the noise propelled me out of bed to investigate.

  The air was chilly, and it wasn't only because Nick had just manifested beside me. Frost had formed on the inside of the window to match the winter wonderland outside. I slipped on my robe, wrapped it tight around me, and vowed to call someone about the radiator once it was a decent hour to do so.

  "What's going on?" I whispered to Nick, surprised I couldn't see my breath in the air.

  "Not sure. I stopped by here on my way to check it out," Nick replied.

  I shivered as I watched the squad car pass by and recognized the number on the hood. It was my sister's. She was a county deputy. Her car passed under the window and continued south out of town down M-22, slowing where the road curved sharply to the right before joining the rest of the emergency personnel.

  "I'm going to go see what's happened," Nick said.

  I resisted the urge to say, "Stay safe." It was still a habit, but how much trouble could a ghost get into?

  Nervous energy started to build in my stomach as I wondered what had happened and who was involved. I craned my neck to see, but I was too far away to make out any details.

  "I hope they're okay," I said.

  "I'll let you know what I find out."

  I nodded. "Okay, I'm going to start warming up the ovens downstairs and tackle the sidewalks." Physical activity would be good to calm the jitters. Plus, with the rate that the snow had fallen during the night, I knew it would be smart to take a first pass at it before it got even deeper, and it would. In an ideal world, you would wait for the snow storm to pass before you went out and shoveled it all together, but that just wasn't the reality. It wasn't going to stop falling for a long time, so the end goal was just to make the job manageable.

  "Let me know if I can help in some way," I called after Nick's blue floating orb. I doubted the scene would need a baker, but if they needed something more than pies and prayers, I'd see what I could do.

  I threw on a pair of jeans and a thick red wool sweater then slid my feet into my neoprene boots. I wrapped a thick, white, braided scarf around my neck, tucking the ends into my fleece coat, and grabbed the shovel I kept tucked inside the bakery's front door. In fact, I was pretty sure that every shop owner had a similar shovel located in a similar place in their business.

  Outside the sky was clear, putting the Milky Way on display in its full glory. I just loved the way a fresh snowfall made everything look so bright and clean, coupled with the bright, shining stars. Well, the scene could have been described as downright peaceful if not for the congregation of emergency vehicles where the highway made a sharp right turn. My sister had pulled her squad car perpendicular to the road, effectively closing it off. Her red and blue lights bounced off the snowy landscape.

  I wasn't the only person interested in the scene down the road. A few other neighbors peeked out of their windows and stepped outside despite the early mo
rning hour. Everyone was just waiting for news about what had happened, including the television station van I spotted idling down the street. I tried to focus on shoveling and waited for Nick to come back and give me an update. The metal shovel scraped along the sidewalk as I heaved the thick, icy snow into a pile along the road verge. At least I was getting my workout in for the day. Come March, I would have arms of steel.

  I eyed my work, rather proud of how quickly I had cleared the mess when I spotted a man running full tilt down M-22.

  "What in the world?" I said aloud.

  Edward was in the middle of street, running for his life. Or he would have been, except he was already dead. I looked past him to see Nick running right on his heels

  "Hey, man, slow down!" Nick shouted after him. Edward looked terrified. He looked over his shoulder and, seeing how close Nick was, kicked up his speed and ran even faster. He was wearing the same business attire and trench coat I had seen him in just hours earlier. The jacket blew open behind him like a cape as he continued in a full-out sprint.

  Edward!" I called out without even realizing what I had done.

  "What, what did she say?" Mrs. Smith, an ancient lady who lived above the post office, yelled out from her window. I ignored her and didn't offer any explanation. Edward locked his eyes on mine and veered off course, running right to me. Before I realized what I was doing, I dropped the shovel on the sidewalk and ran back toward my bakery door, holding it open for the ghost to run in.

  Edward didn't slow until he was safely inside. He took shelter behind the cash register, huffing and puffing for air as if his lungs still needed it. "Hurry, lock the door. Someone, make that something, is after me!" he said, pointing a shaking finger toward the door and then ducking back down behind the counter.

  Edward had no idea that he was dead. Nick's blue orb followed through the bakery window into the shop. It was smart of my husband to take the orb form as to not send Edward running again. I locked the bakery door as instructed and motioned for Edward to follow me back through to the kitchen. As much as I had despised the man when he was living, I couldn't help but feel a little bit sorry for him. I had no idea how I was going to explain his current situation, nor how he would react once he figured out he was no longer part of this world.