The living room had a reclining couch and a series of chairs, none of which matched but all of which seemed to follow a theme. There were bookcases along the wall, all of the same make, with a unique design element that really came into its own with the bookcase closest to the window. Starting with the middle of the five bookshelves, getting progressively more intense, the wood had been burned, and clear resin had been molded in a shape to emulate the unburned bookshelves. Flakes of something red and metallic had been set in the burned parts of the wood, so they caught the light from the window and made it look like the wood was still hot from recent fire.

Ashley was perched in a narrow chair with long legs and a high seat, hands clasped together. Jester was there too, reclining on the couch. A large black and white picture of a lithe, bare-chested or naked man was on the wall above Jester, the head and lower body out of frame, his arms twisted up behind his back in a tortured position with ribbons loosely binding them.

“Hi Ashley,” I said. Others offered their greetings. “Hi Jester.”

Jester smiled.

“Why’d you come?”

“The others either didn’t want to or didn’t care, and I wanted to. I still probably owe you something from when you carried the slack back at work.”

“Nothing’s owed,” I said.

He just shrugged in response.

“This place really came along since my last visit,” Sveta said.

“I would hope so,” Ashley said. “It’s been a little while.”

“It’s a shame to pack it up,” Kenzie said. She hopped into a chair.

“Yes,” Ashley said. “Yes it is.”

“I love the bookshelves, especially the one at the end,” I said.

Ashley smiled. “I do too.”

“There were three the last time I came,” Sveta said. “The one at the end had to have taken the longest to put together.”

“It did,” Ashley said. “It came out well. I’m pleased.”

“I’d be worried about the resin refracting light at the wrong angle and starting a fire,” Chris said.

“You are just dead set on being a stick in the mud today, aren’t you?” Tristan asked.

“It’s fine,” Ashley said. “I was warned about that, and I was careful.”

“If we’re admiring decor, I like this ribbon dancer dude,” Tristan said, indicating the picture above the couch.

Chris snorted.

“I wish I had the artistic sense to figure out what it’s saying,” Tristan added.

“If you have theories, keep them to yourself,” Ashley said. “I’d hate to have it ruined.”

“Lips sealed,” Sveta said.