Thankfully, the Bookseller was gone. On the one hand, I was thankful that Indigo ended up in my life, but on the other, that evil book had almost killed me. Not really, but it felt like it.

I sipped what was left of my coffee and closed my eyes to enjoy it. Indigo was going through the dragon book for the fifth time. While the magical floating images kept my distracting me, I needed more caffeine, and maybe some hot tub time. The Cat had vanished somewhere to do whatever he did, which was the go-ahead that my duties were done for the day.

I loved my life.

My job was awesome, and some days were long, but most times, it was pretty simple. Do whatever the task for the day was, then spend time with Indigo.

“Sable…” The Cat’s voice echoed from the balcony above, and for once he sounded concerned.

“Yes, Cat?” I replied. I knew his name, but it felt weird to think it, let alone say it.

“Did you invite anyone over?”

My coffee cup paused on the way to my lips, and my lips parted. “What? I don’t invite people over…” I finished my cup and turned toward Betty, needing more caffeine to deal with whatever the Cat was concerned about.

“Well, that’s not what the book says…” He jumped onto the counter with force and almost flew off the far side. His loss of control caused me to take this a little more seriously.

“So, my brothers stopped by without a problem.” I ground the espresso beans. “What’s the problem this time?”

The bells on the door rang, and the Cat jumped back on the counter, knocking into Indigo. She chirped as she went tumbling off the back near my feet. The sound cut off as I turned toward the door.

“Welcome to the sho…” My voice trailed off as I turned to look at who’d entered.

“Sable - surprise!” Standing in a red puffy jacket and bright green earmuffs was Jackie. She was one of my oldest childhood friends from back home.

“Woah, Jackie…” I blinked twice, then quickly glanced at my feet to see the Cat, sitting right next to Indigo, who stared up at me with wide eyes. “What are you doing here?” I moved the last stack of three books closer to the register and leaned toward the counter. I stacked the dragon book on top.

Jackie chuckled in that bright voice I remembered from joking around at school. “Your mom mentioned you were working in the area. She gave me the address of the shop.” Her eyes traveled around the space. “Talk about a bookstore…” She turned slowly in a circle.

Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

Taking a few seconds to steady my racing thoughts, I continued to make my shots of espresso. “Uh, let me grab you some coffee and we can chat…” Out of the corner of my eye, I checked her out. Her auburn hair and green eyes were the same as I remembered. Not to mention the freckles, though she’d grown into them and they complemented her fair skin quite nicely. Seeing the Cat’s tail puffed as he tried to sneak Indigo down the hallway, I assumed Jackie shouldn’t be here. “I can’t believe my mom's sending my friends to come and check on me.”

“I’m only visiting the city for a couple of hours,” she replied, looking at the stacks of books on the center table. She chuckled slightly. “Unfortunately, I’m moving back home.”

I set my coffee cup on the counter, now filled with an Americano, as I quickly made another. “Wait - didn’t you swear to leave and never come back?” I flashed her a grin, but she didn’t return it.

Instead, she chuckled softly, almost sadly. “That was the plan, but finding a job has been rough.” She shrugged, moving back in front of the counter. “My parents invited me to come back home and stay in the apartment over the barn.”

“And that led to chatting with my mom?”

“Oh, no, that was about the job with your brother, Umber. He’s looking for help on the farm; she’s the one trying to fill the spot.”

“Let me finish the coffee and we can go back to the kitchen.” I filled a bright green mug with hot water and topped it off with the espresso.

“Can I get some cream and sugar in that?” she asked, watching me.

I nodded with a smile before fixing her drink. Then I grabbed both cups. “Come on back,” I said, holding out the coffee. The Cat and Indigo were nowhere to be seen in the hallway, which was important. As I passed the stairs, I saw paws and a set of talons on the very top step.

“This looks like a nice gig. How did you find it?” she asked as we entered the kitchen.

“Job board. I lucked out, though my family wouldn’t think so,” I mumbled as I sat down at the island. I set her coffee cup in front of one of the other stools.

Jackie took a seat and grabbed the coffee, unzipping her jacket. “Well, your family has always been close, and I think your mother wanted you to come home and take over the clinic.”

This time I snorted. “There wasn’t a chance I was going to continue to study medicine.” My mother ran the clinic in town. She was the closest thing to a town doctor we had, and she was the school nurse as well. “Plus, she’d do anything for me to return home.”

“Don’t knock her. Without this job with Umber, I’m not sure what I’d do.” Jackie took a sip of her drink. “This is good.”

“Yeah, we only use the best beans…” Then again, I wasn’t sure what world we even got our coffee beans from. They just kind of showed up. It occurred to me that I wasn’t even sure it was, technically, coffee, but it smelled like it, tasted amazing, and I decided to just let that particular mystery go. “So, how long are you in town?”

“Only the day, I just wanted to stop by and see you. My car’s parked out front, full of my stuff. Whatever didn’t fit got sold or donated.”

“Well, you can let my mother know I’m doing fine. I love my job, and I’ll be here until my contract is up. I can’t give up the room and board, plus the other benefits.” A dark shape padded down the hallway, but before I panicked, I realized it was the Cat. Jackie turned to look and saw him.

“Oh my, look at that handsome fellow.” She glanced back at me. “You always wanted a cat or two.”

The laughter spilled out as the Cat jumped onto the island. If only she knew. The Cat glared at me as she reached out to pet him. The sound of him purring took over.

I smiled, and then noticed a purple shadow dart toward the front of the shop.

“So, you basically run the bookstore?” asked Jackie.