Spells & Stardust by J. Scott Coatsworth

Author:J. Scott Coatsworth [Coatsworth, J. Scott]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Other Worlds Ink

2019

Hank closed the front door behind him, throwing the keys on the small wooden table in the entryway. It had taken some getting used to, moving to this little apartment, living alone again.

The grief only hit him occasionally, now.

He stood in the entryway for a long moment, staring down at the worn laminate flooring, wondering how he’d come to this. "Hello twenty fucking nineteen," he whispered to himself.

It had been almost four years since David’s death, an unexpected event one afternoon when they were on vacation together in Milan.

A massive heart attack, and David had been gone in a matter of hours.

Now Amber was gone too, off to college at Sacramento State. He had no more need for the big house, so he had downsized to this little place in Berkeley, not far from the college campus.

Onyx Press had invited him to their annual New Year’s Eve party, in part to celebrate the release of his latest book, Jaws of Shadow. They were even doing a “Heritage Release”—1,000 signed copies on paper, like in the good old days. Nobody but the big publishers did print runs anymore.

He hadn’t really wanted to go, but his editor Jayne had insisted. There were so many people who wanted to meet him, the famous author, and he’d felt obliged to go. Now he was just tired.

He stared at himself in the hallway mirror. At fifty, silver hair was rapidly replacing the blond hair at his temples. Fine wrinkles were spreading across his face like cracks in time, and he had more of a paunch than he liked to admit.

Fifty years old. Where did the time go? And what did he have to show for it, other than a stack of eBooks?

He wondered if his ghost of New Year’s past would visit him again tonight.

All sorrow comes to an end. And even your darkest night will eventually give way to morning.

How prophetic that had been. He’d written it all off as a strange dream, but still…

Hank shuffled off to the kitchen, searching for his favorite, milk and cookies. He checked the fridge—the milk was a lost cause, well past its expiration date. But he did manage to scrounge up a bag of Oreos. “Messages?”

His home assistant, Alex, said “One message, from Amber. Do you want to hear it?”

“Yes.”

"Playing message: 'Hi Daddy, I hope you're doing something fun for New Year’s Eve. I hate that you’re all alone in that little apartment. Maybe I’ll come down to see you next week? I don’t start classes until the eighth. Give me a call. Love you.'

“Would you like to reply?” Alex asked.

“Yes. Please tell her ‘next week would be fine—give me a call tomorrow and let me know when to expect you.’”

It was half an hour after midnight, and there was still no sign of his mysterious visitor. He took the bag of Oreos and a can of Pepsi Glow and sank down onto his living room couch, prepared to settle into a comforting sugar coma for the rest of the night.

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