Page 3 of Ghost in the Cupboard

As I began to settle into the comfort of my bed, the blue glow and faint buzz of my phone startled me. Frowning at the thought of the late hour, I groped blindly in the near darkness and grabbed my phone. With it still attached to the charging cable, I opened the message banner on the lock screen.

Hey, Si! Hope it’s not too late. Any interest in this? It matches the paint in your house. Let me know when you see this!

The text from Max Nguyen was followed quickly by a photo of a green cupboard in his store. Before I could answer, another message slipped onto the screen.

It’s free. Just gas money for delivery. Someone left it out front and I don’t have the room for it right now. Business…is slow.

I couldn’t help but half smile, half grimace, at the message. Business was slow everywhere in town. Tapping out a response quickly, I began imagining where the cupboard would look best in my house.

Fifty bucks sound good?

The response was nearly immediate.

Deal! Bring it by around eight tomorrow evening?

Deal.

Max responded to my text by giving it a thumbs up reaction emoji, but no more messages came through. Obviously, he knew he had been bothering me late in the evening, so he wasn’t going to bother me further. I gave the cupboard picture a few more moments of inspection, then locked my phone and laid it back on the bedside table.

My eyes immediately felt heavy as I shifted happily against the mattress, finding the perfect position. Though my evening snack had left me groggy, and my body was prepared for sleep, my mind had other ideas. As I did my best to drift off, Chester’s question was playing on repeat in my head.

What will you do now?

Working harder was always the answer. It was going to catch up to me eventually. With a sigh and the resolve to make things work, I was finally able to push the thought away, and I fell into a restful slumber.