1 Grim Tidings Read Online Free

isn’t ritzy , but it’s certainly not run down. It’s comfortable – and the nightlife is to die for (probably not a great phrase for a reaper, I know). It’s more hipster-meets-music snob, with great food on every corner thrown in for good measure. There’s a festival every other weekend and something new to discover every month.
    I love it here.
    I unlocked the door to my condo – located within walking distance of Royal’s Oak’s bustling after-dark activities – and found my best friend, Jeremiah “Jerry” Collins, lounging on the couch watching Golden Girls in his boxer shorts.
    Before you ask, yes, Jerry is gay. I’ve known since we met in kindergarten and he immediately vetoed my Converse and Levis, something he does to this day. I didn’t know he was gay right away. I did ask my mom if he was a girl dressed up as a boy, though. She merely smiled, patted me on the head, and told me that someday I would appreciate his fashion sense. She was wrong on that one.
    “Hey, Bug,” he greeted me without looking up from the television. He had called me “Bug” since we were little, when my brothers were happily burning ants with a magnifying glass while I tried desperately to save them -- in vain, I might add. Nothing can dissuade my brothers from a task when they set their minds to it.
    “Hey,” I said, dropping my purse on the coffee table and sliding onto the couch next to him. “How was your day?”
    “Oh, just so stupid,” Jerry replied. “Mrs. Noonan came in again.”
    I wracked my brain for an identity hint. “Is she the one who wants the four-tiered wedding cake?” Jerry owned a chic little bakery – Get Baked – on Royal Oak’s main drag. He’s extremely creative and talented, and I’m not saying that just because he’s my best friend.
    “She’s just unbelievable,” Jerry continued. “She wants me to somehow include dolphins in it now.”
    “Dolphins? That doesn’t seem very wedding-y. Is that a word? Wedding-y? I don’t think that’s a word.”
    Jerry ignored my grammar constipation. “Dolphins have nothing to do with a wedding,” he agreed. “She only asked for the dolphins after I told her that putting shirtless men on a gay wedding cake was tacky.”
    Yeah, because of who he is and how well known he is in the gay community, a lot of Jerry’s business revolves around same-sex weddings in Michigan. That’s a thing now because a recent court decision pretty much spanked Michigan’s governor and told him that a gay marriage ban is repugnant – which he’s still fighting. Jerry’s business is booming, though.
    “I thought you liked tacky?”
    “For a bachelor party? Sure. For a wedding, though? Some things are sacred.”
    Sometimes I think Jerry is more of a girl than I am. When he thinks of wedding cakes he gets all twitterpated like in Bambi . When I think of wedding cakes, I don’t get anything but hives.
    “Well, what did you finally tell her?”
    “That I knew what I was doing and to trust me.”
    “And how did she take that?”
    “She told me I was bitchy.”
    I couldn’t hide my smirk. Jerry idles at bitchy. That’s what I love about him. “Then what happened?”
    “Then I called her son and told him she was driving me crazy.”
    No, not bitchy at all.
    “And he agreed with me and she backed off,” Jerry added.
    “And how did you end things?”
    “She started crying and admitted that she’s manic about the wedding because she wants to make sure her son realizes she’s okay with it, him being gay and getting married and all.”
    “That’s kind of sweet,” I admitted.
    “It is,” Jerry agreed, slinging his arm over my shoulder and pulling me close so I could get more comfortable.
    I thought about his response for a second and then smiled. “The cake is going to have dolphins, isn’t it?”
    “Small, tasteful ones,” Jerry replied.
    Tasteful dolphins on a wedding cake? I can’t wait to see it. I turned my attention to the television, fighting