WHO: Blaze and Lochan. WHEN: Oh boy, this goes all the way back to early July. So like...over a month ago. WHERE: The Psychic Shop SUMMARY: Blaze quits his job. WARNINGS: Talk of ghosts. Talk of quitting jobs.
The last customer had finally left. Blaze closed the shop, but instead of heading back home, he went past the beaded curtain to find his boss.
“Hey,” Blaze said. “Can we talk?”
Lochan had finished cleaning up, sitting in his chair at the table with his head hanging over the back. “Yeah, of course.” It did not take a psychic to be aware of what the discussion might be about. A small town and the brief text conversation about not working as much made such late night discussions easy to track.
“Come on, sit down.”
Blaze took the offered seat. “I’m really sorry to do this Lochan, and I’m really grateful for the job and the opportunity you’ve given me, but I just have a lot on my plate right now, since the divorce. I think I need to put in my two week’s notice.”
A deep sigh rose and fell in Lochan’s chest. His fingers tapped on the table as silence surrounded the statement for a few beats of the heart. “I understand,” he stated finally. “I appreciate that you tried. But family comes first and as I said, if you need to escape the upstairs has no other visitors than a couple ghosts.” That was Lochan’s way of joking, though it was not entirely a joke and he was sure they both knew that rather well by now.
Blaze chuckled at that, even though this was uncomfortable. He really appreciated everything that Lochan had done for him. His heart just wasn’t in this right now. “I appreciate the offer. I don’t mind the ghosts.”
“I hope you will still visit,” he continued his deep voice quieting. Lochan had never been too good at becoming friends with people, even while having friends, his own introversion leant for short conversations with lasting impressions rather than continuous company.
Blaze nodded. “Of course I will,” he said. Lochan wasn’t a bad guy underneath the grumpy exterior. Blaze considered him a friend. “It’ll give you a break from all the palm readings.”
Lochan chuckled. “Yeah, it’s either you save me or I go on a three month long vacation to Colorado. Which as time passes seems like a good option.” He played with a single card that had been left on the table, turning it like a wheel between two fingertips. “I hope everything turns out well.”
“Why Colorado?”
“I have some friends there,” he answered simply. Colorado felt far enough away without leaving the mountains he enjoyed. Friends he met briefly as they passed through the town a decade previous offered him an escape from the ‘shallow-minded’ small town- as they put it. Lochan never took them up on it, knowing that while he had his issues with the town, the history was written in his being and his family and closest friends held the highest priority in his life. The film and the growth of the population because of it made it difficult to find peace anymore.
Blaze nodded. That was as good a reason to visit a place as any. “Living or dead?” he joked. But a moment later, he shook his head and sobered. “I want to thank you,” he said. “For everything.” Lochan had been a good boss. An eccentric boss for sure, but a good one.
A smirk fluttered over Lochan's expression. “Any time. Maybe you and your siblings can help me with the historic haunt walk I do in October. Things should be settled by then.”
Blaze smiled back. “Well, I couldn’t miss that.” Even if Blaze wasn’t working for him anymore, they’d stay friends. The same way Blaze and Amita had. He shook Lochan’s hand. “I’ll get back to work.” Before he officially left, he was going to leave things as organized and as easy-to-manage as he could.