Celeste began to doze as she watched the chaos from the warm comforts of the tiny shoe shop’s office. This office was comprised of an antiquated dilapidated desk, a small fridge and a questionable loveseat. In the air hung a light aroma of freshly oiled shoe leather and dust . . not a good combination but better than many places she’d slept over the last few years. “Gratefulness comes in all shapes and sizes”, she mused with a chuckle at how her life twisted and turned.

As the police showed up out front she jolted back awake. The lights from all the police cars, as well as the fire in the looted store, illuminated the store front of the shoe shop allowing her to take better stock of where she was . . and also to wonder if the owner would be returning soon to check on the business. As she sat wondering she heard voices by the back door. Cops were checking doors and saying Arnold was away on vacation this week.

Celeste breathed a huge sigh of relief. She had one solid week to solidify her plan and reinvent her life.