NOVEL FROG Chapter Sixty-Six: So utterly normal
Episode Sixty-Six
It felt nice when the shop was in my favorite arrangement. We were on Earth, and would be doing something rather normal today. Deliveries, maybe, or at least something involving humans. Not that getting to meet other species wasn’t fun, but I had a bit of a headache that I prayed would go away, and it would be nice to not have to worry about the weird.
The Cat lapped at his coffee, slower than normal.
I clutched my mug to my chest and watched as Indigo napped. She’d asked for a basket to sleep in, so she was on the floor hidden behind the counter. Ever since the BLTs she had been sleeping more. My assumption was that she was growing again. Her first growth spurt had taken her from the size of my palm to filling my open hand, like from an orange to a small cantaloupe. This time, I wasn’t sure how much she would grow. All of those stories she was listening to were helping feed her soul, which was good, but I was worried about how she would feel about not fitting in her hideaway anymore.
The Cat finished his coffee, and I moved the teacup under the counter. He crept closer to me like he didn’t want to spook me. Then he licked my hand that held the teacup.
For a moment, I couldn’t believe he had done it, then I realized my headache was gone. I couldn’t even put two words together to thank him because of my amazement. The Cat had magicked my headache away. Magic was amazing.
“Are you ready for today?” he asked.
I nodded, and the door unlocked.
The bells jangled as the door shot open and Molly dashed inside.
I petted the Cat in thanks for getting rid of the headache as Molly’s giggles filled the store. She headed to the children’s section with glee.
I grabbed a small to-go cup, along with a larger one, and started on a hot chocolate, along with a coffee for her father. I glanced up in time to see her flop to the floor and pull a book on dinosaurs off the shelf before flipping through it.
Yet, as the bells rang again, it wasn’t her father that entered. Instead, a woman with short brown hair and eyes that held a panicked expression walked in. She caught sight of Molly and her shoulders relaxed. “Molly, you need to be careful about racing ahead,” she called out to the girl.
Molly completely ignored her.
That wasn’t good.
I kept going on the hot chocolate and the coffee, though I wasn’t sure if the woman was going to want it. She slowly walked over to where Molly was and squatted down next to her. “We need to get to school before the bell rings.” Molly ignored her again, and the woman looked frustrated, standing up with a snap.
I had to do something. “Hey Molly,” I called. “I have your hot chocolate ready to go, but you gotta get moving so you aren’t late for school!” I kept my voice nice and sweet.
The little girl glanced my way with a big smile, then carefully put the book back on the shelf. It was the same one she always looked at first, and I swore it was also the one she had bought for her birthday. Molly got off the floor and darted up near my counter, dodging around the big table in the center of the room. “Really?” she asked, her eyes almost glowing as she peeked over the counter.
“Of course,” I said with a smile, pointing to the small to-go cup. “It has whipped cream on top, but it will be warm. Just be careful with it and make sure you listen to…” My voice trailed off as I glanced at the woman. She quickly mouthed, aunt. “Your aunt.” The girl’s hands crept to the edge of the counter, but I didn’t hand it over yet. The aunt had to get involved, or this would not work. I wondered where her father was, but it wasn’t the time to ask. Hopefully, he was okay.
I motioned to the larger to-go cup. “I have a coffee for her, too. Do you think she wants it?” I asked Molly with a serious tone.
Molly glanced at her aunt, then at the coffee cup, her eyes squinting. “I think she likes coffee. Most tall people do.”
“Well, that’s good.” I resisted the urge to chuckle at the ‘tall people’ comment.
“I’d love a coffee,” said her aunt, with a look of relief after glancing at her watch. “We should have just enough time to walk the rest of the way to school.” She held out her credit card, and I pointed to the reader. She tapped it, and then picked up the coffee along with the hot chocolate. Molly carefully took the hot chocolate from her with both hands. “What do you say?”
“Thank you, Miss Sable.”
“Of course, Molly. Have a great day at school.”
Now Molly walked beside her aunt and out the door, which closed quietly behind them.
I glanced down at the Cat. “So, what’s the deal with Molly?”
The Cat didn’t answer, but his tail flicked in the air. I shook my head at the non-answer but scratched behind his ears, which he liked. “How about another cup of coffee?”
This time he nodded, and I pulled his teacup back out. As I started working on it, I noticed the Children’s section was gone. “Oh, so we have another visitor this morning?”
The Cat nodded, but it seemed annoyed.
I put extra effort into his coffee, topping it with more frothed milk than normal. Indigo hadn’t stirred in her basket, so she was good. I sat down on the stool and sipped more of my coffee. With the headache gone I felt more normal, and hopefully ready for whatever had the Cat annoyed.
“It’s them again,” muttered the cat between lapping at the teacup.
“Them?” I asked curiously.
“The Cat-people.”
I didn’t need to ask more. Last time an artist had shone up asking for art books. The experience had driven the Cat crazy. The people worshiped cats, and so the person’s entire focus had been on the Cat. More than that, they had looked like a cat themselves, which had clearly increased the annoyance.
I drank more coffee to prepare myself, yet as I looked around, nothing else had changed. The shop didn’t have as many stacks of books as last time, and I had to admit I was a little confused as to what we’d be doing. I shook myself, and remembered that the Cat and the shop had been doing this a long time. They’d tell me what to do when I needed to do it. I only had to hope I could handle it.