305/200 Day Three Mini-nanowrimo

It came as a surprise to Nancy when Mrs. McGiveney left everything to her. The older woman's shop (McG's Tailoring and Alterations) was next to hers, and they'd had an amiable friendship since Nancy had opened for business, but the bequest stunned and pleased her in a way nothing else ever had. It wasn't surprising, really---a childless widow, no near family---but the fact that she hadn't had a glimmer of it made it a delightful surprise, and surprises of that magnitude were usually what other people had.

The lawyer who told her about it sniffed with disproval, and she wanted to tell him to blow his nose and stop fooling around with his sister-in-law---it would've completely wiped That Look off his face---and she wanted to run next door and tell Clara McGiveney, and that was when it hit her. This wasn't just a nice gift, it was Good-bye. Nancy had never lost anyone who actually meant anything to her before, and the sudden realization that she no longer had her good friend and confidante jammed a hand so far under her ribcage it brought a lump to her throat.

This was the first time she'd been to the house itself. It was a couple miles outside of town, a huge Victorian farmhouse with seven rooms on the first floor, six rooms on the second, an attic and a cupola. Tower room aside, it was a no-frills sort of house, and Nancy loved it immediately. There was a warm sense of Clara's presence there, not that she ever manifested; indeed, knowing her, she would have thought such a thing to be extremely rude. But it had been lived in and taken care of for over a hundred years; Nancy let the sense of peaceful energy wash over her, and knew that she was finally home.

305/200 Day Three Mini-nanowrimo

It came as a surprise to Nancy when Mrs. McGiveney left everything to her. The older woman's shop (McG's Tailoring and Alterations) was next to hers, and they'd had an amiable friendship since Nancy had opened for business, but the bequest stunned and pleased her in a way nothing else ever had. It wasn't surprising, really---a childless widow, no near family---but the fact that she hadn't had a glimmer of it made it a delightful surprise, and surprises of that magnitude were usually what other people had.

The lawyer who told her about it sniffed with disproval, and she wanted to tell him to blow his nose and stop fooling around with his sister-in-law---it would've completely wiped That Look off his face---and she wanted to run next door and tell Clara McGiveney, and that was when it hit her. This wasn't just a nice gift, it was Good-bye. Nancy had never lost anyone who actually meant anything to her before, and the sudden realization that she no longer had her good friend and confidante jammed a hand so far under her ribcage it brought a lump to her throat.

This was the first time she'd been to the house itself. It was a couple miles outside of town, a huge Victorian farmhouse with seven rooms on the first floor, six rooms on the second, an attic and a cupola. Tower room aside, it was a no-frills sort of house, and Nancy loved it immediately. There was a warm sense of Clara's presence there, not that she ever manifested; indeed, knowing her, she would have thought such a thing to be extremely rude. But it had been lived in and taken care of for over a hundred years; Nancy let the sense of peaceful energy wash over her, and knew that she was finally home.