Two

Tess was fucked. It took a week to confirm it.

She was standing in the foyer at the time, now filled with industrial fans and dehumidifiers. The building was a mess. The air was heavy with the scent of damp plaster and the distant echo of dripping water. The burst pipe had spread water beyond the office, seeping into the entire ceiling, causing serious damage.

But Tess couldn’t pull the trigger on the repair work until she had the OK from the insurance company, which could come any minute. The adjustor had finally turned up a few days ago. He’d been too chipper. Tess didn’t trust chipper. She was of the belief that it masked dark shit.

Fi came in, balancing two cups of coffee. ‘Thought you might need this,’ she said, handing one to Tess.

‘Does it have crack in it? Because that’s what I need right now,’ Tess joked, sort of.

‘We’re fresh out,’ Fi said. ‘Though I bet Dylan could hook you up with something a bit milder.’

Tess laughed. ‘Wait, is that why he falls asleep so much?’

‘Obviously, Tess,’ her sister said. ‘You didn’t know you hired The Big Lebowski?’

The phone rang. Tess snatched it up like a woman in a movie whose child had been kidnapped. ‘Tess Fitzgerald!’

Fi watched eagerly as Tess took the call. This meant that Tess couldn’t really react to the news that they were only covering part of the repair. She also had to look neutral when it was explained to her that it was bigger than the pipe. They’d found other problems, some caused by the leak, some preexisting. Electrical system repairs throughout. Air conditioning and heating systems. Windows and doorframes that were out of code. Even the light-up sign needed replacing. Tess would give them that one. She’d electrocuted herself on it more than once.

‘So, what’s the big number?’ Tess asked.

‘The cost to repair will be a hundred and twenty thousand by our estimate,’ said the evil demon on the other end of the line.

Fi was watching her carefully so Tess did not scream. ‘OK. And what’s the number you’re paying?’ she said.

‘Twelve.’

‘I see. Why would that be?’ Tess asked evenly, feeling the will to live leave her body.

‘Because a lot of the previous work on the place doesn’t meet professional standards. So that means…’

‘I know what it means.’

‘Did you do the repairs and maintenance yourself?’ the lady asked.

‘No. That would have been my mother. She used to run the place.’

‘I see. Well, maybe I should talk to her about this, then.’

‘Sure. You got a Ouija board handy?’ Tess asked flatly.

‘Oh, I see. Sorry.’

‘I’m running the place now. After a fashion.’

‘OK. Well, we will pay out that figure if you decide to… keep the place open.’

‘And how would I do that?’ Tess asked, not really expecting any kind of answer.

‘You could look into the possibility of a bank loan?’ the woman suggested.

Tess shuddered.

‘What?’ Fi mouthed.

Tess plastered a smile on her face and stuck a thumb up. Fi was assuaged.

‘OK, well. I guess I’ll contact you if… when I’ve looked into that,’ Tess said, trying to keep her teeth on display. She hung up.

‘What’s going on?’ Fi asked.

‘Well…’ Tess said. She wanted to say, ‘It’s hopeless. I give up.’ But she’d had to tell her sister about her mother’s fatal heart attack fifteen years ago and, ever since, developed the most terrible aversion to delivering life-changingly shit news to the woman. And this was shit. The Eclipse was their livelihood. Their lives, actually. They had lived and breathed the place together for fifteen years. Giving up on it felt like giving up on the glue that kept them together.

She took a deep breath, making the choice. ‘You know what, I just need to make a few more calls,’ she told her sister. And then she ran off before Fi could press it.