After breakfast, entertainment came in the form of cleaning up as Kieran set about preparing tea. Jack used the opportunity to poke through all the cupboards to find out exactly where all the cleaning supplies were kept.

Under the sink, he found a post-it note on the inside of the door declaring that rubbing alcohol and peroxide were in the medicine cabinet with the bandaids. It was in his own handwriting, but he had no memory of writing it nor sticking it to the door. The other door had a note telling him where to find the dustpan.

He waited until Kieran left before starting on collecting all the trash in the apartment.

He moved from room to room, emptying trash into his bag. In the study, his phone pinged with a text, and he welcomed the distraction. As he read it, he came to the conclusion that it was way too early to deal with Tara.

y didnt u tell me my basement smells like cinnamon??? i found some old cookies in a sewing tin! JACKPOT! stale but sooo good

Way, way too early.

He tucked his phone away in favor of gathering up his trash into the bag. It might be tedious, but it was easy. And most of it was proving to be his.

He moved on to the living room, his heart sinking at the sight of a few wrappers he'd left on the coffee table. At least he hadn't left the wrappers there long enough to gain a migrating trash can.

Jack looked out the window into the back alley. A couple early morning shoppers decked out in heavy winter coats darted through, nodding to one another as they headed in opposite directions. He fingered the thinner fabric of his shirt before sighing and grabbing his coat. Was it too late to ask for an oversized sweater for Christmas? There was about a week left, surely someone still needed an idea for a gift.

The thought of potential gifts gripped his stomach and twisted violently. He was running out of time, and he had no idea what to get Kieran. He didn't think he'd luck out and find something small and easy again. And certainly not for near-free. What did you get a guy who had everything?

He grabbed his coat from where it had been tossed over the back of the couch and pulled it on. He wanted something bigger to hide in.

Before heading down to the first floor, he double checked the combination to the dumpster. No sense in being stuck out in the cold alley, staring at the lock in confusion. Again.

He reached the bottom of the stairs and took a deep breath as he crossed the spot where Augie had temporarily died. There was too much happening too quickly for his tastes. There was a part of him that missed his old, foggy lifestyle of existing day to day. It wasn't great, but it was familiar. Familiar, dull, but still full of fear.

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Even though his life had taken something of a hectic turn, he didn't feel the same overwhelming sense of dread whenever he went out. He didn't feel the need to constantly be aware of his surroundings. Sure, he knew too many vampires, but he knew of at least one that had his back.

He stopped short of the doorway leading out to the shop and listened for a moment. A woman's voice carried through the air, followed by short replies from Kieran.

"And here is my sweet Genevieve on her wedding day. The tea set was a wedding gift, you know. I believe it was intended as an insult, so it was never used. Completely worthless at the time, but now? Oh, if Winifred knew how much it was worth now, she would turn in her grave! At least a semester's worth of tuition, I should think."

"If not, then it should cover the cost of books," Kieran replied.

"I do hope it helps. David's not doing well," she said with a sigh. "It used to be so easy to update credentials, but with the way the world's changing? My network of contacts is falling apart! They expect you to live in your mailbox! The electronic one, that is. Constant availability. It's dreadful!"

"Too true."

"You have the right idea. Self-sustaining reclusivity. If only I'd thought to hoard the souvenirs from my travels, but I prefer to pass them to my living relatives. I saw young Shannon on one of those auction shows sometime last year. She was getting an old brooch of mine evaluated. I don't believe she gave in and sold it. Granted, they did say it could be auctioned for as much as five thousand!"

"A tempting fee, to be sure."

Hugging the doorjamb, Jack poked his head out. Just past the register he could see the top of Kieran's head. It looked like the vampiric tea party was taking place on a pair of chairs Kieran had for sale. If that meant Jack was allowed to sit on the merchandise, then he could do a little work in the shop later. A small part of his fantasy would be attained.

Cold creeped up his arm, and he looked over in time to see Lindsey manifest into something opaque.

"I get to say hi!" she whispered in unrestrained excitement.

"Yay?"

She rolled her eyes. "Some of us actually like talking to people and don't need an excuse to avoid it," she said, pointing at the trash bag.

Jack grimaced and looked from the bag to the back door. It wasn't escaping and avoiding a conversation if he was warned to keep clear. "Can I just live vicariously through you?"

"Whatever. You go do boring stuff, I'm gonna go make a new friend," she said as she happily moved into the shop.

With a shake of his head, Jack checked his phone for the combination. He frowned at how he managed to flip the numbers around in less than five minutes.

Outside, he kept his eyes on the dumpster, doing his best to ignore anyone using the alley as a shortcut. He didn't need a curious audience for his inability to retain a handful of numbers.

With the trash in the dumpster and combination lock restored, Jack relaxed a little and turned to head back in.

"Look at what I've caught."

Right in his ear. Male. Smug.

Resignation was the only clear thought Jack had as an arm wrapped around his neck.

image [https://i.imgur.com/eZY0YUq.png]