Michelle simply stood and stared. With each passing second she felt better, cozier, happier. There was something very odd about this restaurant, or maybe she simply hadn’t been to a good deli in too long. They always picked up her spirits. The smells of hot coffee, grilling eggs, and sizzling corned beef hash was breathtaking—except it gave breath, it gave spirit, rather than taking it.
Valerie led her to the counter with all the ease of a close friend, rather than the awkwardness most mortals displayed around her. It wasn’t all that often that Michelle found a mortal worth the trouble of actually being interested in, but this woman had actually snagged her attention. Or had until they’d entered the deli. Now her stomach had all her attention.
“Aunt Anne, this is my, uh, friend, Michelle
