InsaneJournal

Life is Good
It might’ve been Logan’s day off, but he learned a while ago that business owners still had things to do even when they weren’t actually working. In this case, the owner of Thoth’s Library had a phone call to return and a new order to place. That meant camping out on the couch with the television on mute, a sea of papers strewn about on the coffee table in front of him.

The Chicago Tribune had called again wanting an interview for a feature on the store; Logan again declined. He supposed an argument could be made for free publicity; people could read the article and decide to check out the store on their own, but the former Watcher wasn’t comfortable letting the media in – particularly after the fiasco surrounding Avery and the local TV station.

He just knew that would come up again if he let the Tribune weasel its way in.

“Ms. Ravencroft,” Logan spoke once the other line picked up, the black receiver trapped between his left ear and shoulder. “It’s Logan. It’s going great, some books I can’t keep in stock. Which is … kinda why I’m calling. I need another shipment of your Witchcraft and Vampires.

“Yeah … I can’t say for sure, but I think that’s been my most popular book for the last month and a half. Not sure if that’s a good thing, now that I think about it …

“Thanks a lot, Mr. Ravencroft. Blessed be.”

Hanging up, Logan marked that off the list of things to do sitting in the notepad on his lap. Only the light of the July morning sun peeked through the window into his apartment; Logan glanced at the clock and cringed. It was only 8:12 … even on his day off, Logan couldn’t sleep in much.

He wanted to go back to bed, join Janine in blissful slumber, but he had a few things to do first. Hopefully, he would finish before she awoke. That way, he could either re-join her, or get to cooking breakfast for when she did wake up.

But first thing was first.

Grabbing the map of Chicago resting on his coffee table, Logan stared at the red circles he’d made on three different spots. There was one on Michigan Avenue, another at Harwood Heights and a third over Lincoln Park. The more Logan stared at the map, the more attention he paid to the circles over Lincoln Park and Michigan Avenue.

Given his revenues and the constant stream of business his store had been doing in the almost year of its existence, Logan was entertaining the possibility of opening a second store. The finances would be a little tricky, and he would have hire a few more people, but if he tweaked the numbers just right, Logan knew he could pull it off.

Michigan Avenue was a huge area within the city of shops and other such businesses, so that made it a prime candidate for hosting the second store. Then again, opening another store at Lincoln Park made even more sense; if Logan’s hunch of things going very wrong there now that it was open to the public again was correct, having a Thoth’s Library location there would prove beneficial.

Logistics aside, this was an exciting time in Logan’s life. His business was obviously doing well – he wouldn’t be considering a second location if it wasn’t – and having Janine in his life was a calming influence. He found it hard to believe how quickly and smoothly their relationship had developed, and Logan had resigned himself to enjoying the ride, rather than worrying over what if’s.

In short, life was good.

Picking up the phone again, Logan pressed a few buttons and held the receiver to his ear again. He rolled his eyes when the voicemail picked up. Was no one in the office on a Saturday morning?

“Jim, it’s Logan,” he spoke after the beep. “Listen, I’d like to set up a meeting sometime this week to go over our numbers again. I really want to get the ball rolling on this second store, if I can help it. Call me when you get this, we’ll set something up.”

Hanging up again, Logan set the map aside on the couch and scratched the stubble under his chin. Standing, he walked back to his bedroom, stopping in the doorway and resting his left elbow on the frame. He watched Janine sleeping, curled up under the covers. Such a peaceful sight, and Logan shook his head with a grin, unable to believe all this was happening to him.

Suddenly, sleep wasn’t on Logan’s mind anymore. He decided to go the breakfast route, walking back to the kitchen and grabbing all the utensils and supplies he’d need. He was better at making scrambled eggs than eggs over easy, but he knew Janine liked the latter, so he would try them that way.

And if he screwed them up? Life was still good