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Chapter 1.5 The Wolf At the Door
Compass House used to be two row houses, each one containing a duplex of cramped apartments. Despite proximity to the subway and Manhattan, past owners struggled to keep tenants. They all complained of strange sounds, and an overwhelming feeling that something was trying to get in.
When Tita P took up residence, she promptly knocked the walls down to turn it into one big house. This explained its excess of doors, from which Compass House derived its name. The two ornate blue North Doors had once been the entrance to each row house. Now, one North Door accessed the main residence, while the other other served as a retail entrance to the gift shop Cass was manning. The kitchen had its own entrance, called the East Door, which came in handy when taking out the trash or unloading groceries.
Then there was the West Door, set further back on the opposite end of the house, a private entrance to Tita P’s library. As for the South Door, well, that was a whole other story.
Doors aside, the house was inviting if a tad eccentric, showcasing treasures and specimens from Tita P’s many travels as an anthropologist. In an effort to combat the gray NYC winters, or Tita P’s homesickness, there were touches of our island roots everywhere, tropical wallpaper, rattan furniture, an explosion of houseplants, and Filipino teleseryes on tap.
Bonus Map below cut!
