the tenant
Okay, so my life is officially at rock bottom. I’m 26 with nothing more to show for myself than a mountain of debt I can't pay back because I just got fired from my job as an assistant manager at a third-rate fast food chain. So, when I get a phone call from a rude lawyer telling me that my great aunt Sophie has died and she's left me a house - a whole damn house! - in Alexandria, Louisiana, I jump at the opportunity to skip out on next month's rent, since I can't afford it anyway.
I maybe should have thought about this a little bit longer, because what I find when I get to the house on 2320 Fleur Belle Court is a two-story Victorian dump. The floors creak, the water temperature is either ice cold or scalding hot and I swear it feels like there’s someone watching me.
I'm pretty sure this place is haunted.
Ruby
Of course, this house is haunted. I've been here since 1930 and nothing is getting me out of here, especially not Noel Delisle. His people stole this house from my cold dead hands, and he'll get what his ancestors had coming.
Too bad. He’s the prettiest Delisle I’ve ever seen and sometimes I swear he can see me and feel me.
I can sure feel him.
sex toy soldier
Kennisha has had a terrible year and is spending the Christmas season alone. When her best friend gives her some edibles and a set of ornaments, she learns about the importance of self-care and rest in unexpected ways.
Includes a bonus epilogue!
LOOKING
Darren and Nadia are looking for a girlfriend. Jourdan is so much more.
and when you leave me
And when you leave me...
I was raised to get my house in order at the end of the year.
Dust from top to bottom.
Wash your windows clockwise with vinegar and the hottest water you can stand.
Sweep on your left side, never your right.
Dump your bucket in the gutter, so it can't water any roots.
Leave all that baggage behind.
It's New Year's Eve and I'm doing my duty, but my heart's not in it, because I lost it a year ago. Ever since my husband died, I've just been hanging on by a thread - clutching at the memory of the man I love with everything I have.
But after my grandmother sends me a sachet of herbs for my bath, with strict instructions to let this year wash down the drain - even my grief - I start having the wildest dreams.
Dreams of the night we met.
Dreams of my husband beside me.
Dreams of a future we never got to live.
Dreams that make me wonder if my lost love is really so far gone.
I'll love you still.
small mercies
Johanna
The holidays are a weird time. Schedules stay out of whack, time means nothing, and the only thing I have to keep my brain distracted is a little reckless fun. Like ‘answer an ad on the city Reddit page for a man allegedly looking for a model’ kind of reckless fun.
Could it be a trap? Certainly.
Do I show up anyway? I mean, sure. Why not?
What’s the best that could happen?
Small Mercies is about a Christmas miracle that reminds us we never know when our lives can change.