In The Shadows

Chapter Two: My Dearest Julian

"For my best friend in the whole wide world."

Elowen looked up from the novel she read just in time to witness a box drop onto the café table in front of her. One look at the bakery logo on the side of it and she bookmarked her spot and set the book aside. Dolly's Cupcakes were no laughing matter, especially on a Monday morning.

"It's a little early for Christmas gifts, isn't it?" Elowen asked as she tore at the box. The pretty pink stripes dotted with strawberries were almost too pretty to tarnish. Almost.

Ivy shrugged, her strawberry-blonde hair flouncing. It remained a mystery how she kept her board straight hair curled in the horrid sleet and snow. Elowen suspected a dangerous amount of hairspray. "I felt like it. I was passing by on my way from the post office. I have officially sent everyone I know a season's greetings card and finished my gift shopping."

Ivy being the social butterfly that she was and Elowen knowing her well, she didn't even want to know how many cards her friend had sent out. Or how much money she had spent on gifts for those she deemed close enough for something more than a greeting card. Elowen could count everyone who she deemed close enough on one hand, 99.99% being family.

"Well, I can actually say I'm right behind you, for once," she said, licking the icing off the top of the red velvet cupcake. "I've finished buying for my parents and my sister. All that's left is to pick up something for the kiddo's and you. I might even get Julian something small, maybe a card."

Ivy made a face. "Your boss?"

"Hey, he's nice." And he was, he'd always been nice, if not odd. But the past few days he'd been a bit standoffish and she wondered if the holidays were stressing him out as well as the new year. At first, she thought it could've been the run-in with the guys who came in at closing the week before but there were weird and rude customers all the time. Julian was always fine after. It was the oddest encounter by far but Elowen couldn't blame Julian's mood on it. He had never really celebrated any of the holidays since she'd been working so maybe he was annoyed.

Ivy stole a dollop of icing before Elowen could stop her. "Hey, did you see that about the guy who was found dead in a parking lot in Queens?" she asked.

Mouth full, Elowen shook her head. She had checked her text messages before getting ready for work and agreed to meet Ivy at the cafe before she went to the antique shop. Her book had taken all her attention off anything else until the cupcake appeared.

Ivy looked disturbed. "Yeah, it was gruesome, apparently. A lot of blood. It's still an ongoing investigation so they haven't really said much else besides the guy's name." Shrugging, Ivy took a drink of Elowen's coffee and gagged. "Good God, El, you're going to get diabetes. How many cups of this syrup do you drink a day?"

Elowen snatched her coffee back and sneered. "I have to get to work," she announced, stuffing the rest of the cupcake in her mouth. Ivy followed her out of the cafe, her heeled boots clicking on the sidewalk. "Don't forget to tell me a good day for the movie marathon. I'm getting bored watching movies all by myself. And a new horror film was just added to Netflix."

They parted ways, Ivy waved over her shoulders as she left to take the train to her art class in Soho. Elowen stopped for the light just outside the café, sipping on the now lukewarm coffee and squinting in the snow-reflected sunlight. She could see the sign to Julian's Antiquities across the street where an old couple stopped in front of the display window to point at something. The sign needed new bulbs on the right side.

The couple had already moved on by the time Elowen crossed the street and stood in front of the store. She stopped in front of the window, wondering what the couple had been looking at. Julian had asked her to change the display the day before and it was a set up of 1980's Christmas. Nothing looked exactly eye-catching so she shrugged and went inside.