After a change of clothes and a short walk, Ciel found herself at a quaint bookshop. A small bell above the door announced her arrival. The room was bright, and she could see a young woman sorting books in the back. A few customers milled about, and a plump elderly woman looked at her from behind a counter.

The old woman gave her a kind smile. "Hello there! Looking for anything particular?" she greeted.

"Oh, um, my name is Ciel. Zero gave me this address. He said he lived here? He sent me to feed his kitten," Ciel told her.

The woman laughed a little. "Oh, that boy! Always worrying. You must be the same Ciel he's been telling us about these past few weeks!" She walked around the counter and offered Ciel her hand. "I'm Ruth, Zero's landlady."

Ciel shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you. You have a lovely shop."

"Thank you, dear." Ruth turned around and called out. "Bonnie! Ciel is here! Come meet her!"

From behind a few shelves towards the back of the shop, another old woman appeared and began to hurry toward them, carrying a small black puffball. "Oh, isn't that wonderful! Hello, Ciel, it's great to meet you!" Once Bonnie was closer, Ciel realized that the puffball was, in fact, a kitten. "Let me guess, Zero sent you all the way here to check on this little guy?" Bonnie asked, scratching the little cat's chin. Ciel nodded, and Bonnie shook her head. "My my my, as if we would just let him starve because Zero was away! I'm sorry you had to come all the way here."

Ciel smiled. "No, it's fine! I'm glad I got to meet you two!" She put her hand out for the cat to sniff, then began petting his head. "This must be Bartholomew."

Ruth nodded. "Mm hm. He's been nothing but a joy since Zero got him a few months ago. Anyway, are you hungry Ciel?"

"I don't want to intrude…" Ciel hesitated.

"Nonsense!" Bonnie told her. "We love guests!"

Ciel smiled. "Well, I did skip breakfast this morning, and I don't have plans."

"That settles it!" Ruth said. "I'll fix you something to eat, we'll get Wendy running the cash register, and you can tell us about yourself." Ruth ushered her toward some stairs with an "Employees Only" sign, while Bonnie went and spoke to the woman in the back, who Ciel assumed to be Wendy.

"We were a bit worried when Zero didn't come home last night. What happened?" Ruth asked Ciel as they climbed the stairs.

"Oh, well, he insisted on walking me to my apartment, and we lost track of time talking and fell asleep."

Ruth hummed and nodded. They had made it to a small door, and Ruth let Ciel inside. It opened into a small living room. She and Ruth walked through it and into a little kitchen, where Ruth pulled out a carton of eggs. "Would you like an omelet or just some fried eggs?"

"I like omelets," Ciel told her.

"How about some ham and cheese in it?"

Ciel smiled. "Yes, please!"

Ruth got out the ham and cheese and gestured to the small table across from the kitchen. "Have a seat, dear. Tell me a bit about yourself. Zero told me you were a physicist?"

Ciel nodded. "Yeah! I'm currently working on sustainable energy sources."

"That's wonderful! You must be smart."

Ciel smiled. "Thank you! I really enjoy my work."

"As you should! You're doing a lot of good, dear."

Ciel nodded. "So are you! The world always needs bookstores."

Ruth gave her a kind smile. "Thank you very much. I think so, too."

"How long have you been in business?"

Ruth thought for a moment. "Hmm, I think maybe forty years now? Thirty-nine? I'll have to ask Bonnie."

"Ah. How long has Zero lived here?"

"Well, it was just after our youngest, David, moved out, and we thought that it would be good to rent out the top floor. So, must be going on twenty years now. He's changed so much since then, Ciel, you wouldn't believe."

Ciel cocked her head. "Really?"

Ruth nodded. "Yup. You should ask him about it, he's a bit sensitive about the whole thing, I don't want to tell you anything he wouldn't be comfortable with you knowing. No offense, of course."

Ciel shook her head. "No, it's fine! I understand."

At that moment, Bonnie came in. She closed the door behind her and set down Bartholomew, who cautiously stalked over to Ciel. Ciel offered her hand to him, which he sniffed curiously before rubbing against her leg and allowing her to pet him gently.

Bonnie smiled. "You're good with cats! Have you owned one before?"

"I had one when I was little, and my friend has one now. But I don't have one at the moment. My apartment has super strict rules when it comes to pets."

Bonnie frowned. "What a shame!"

Ciel shrugged. "Well, I am technically allergic to them, so I shouldn't have one anyway."

Ruth brought over the omelet with a concerned look. "Oh, we had no idea! Should we put him away, then?"

"No, no, it's ok. I take pills for it. Once I move out, the first thing I'm doing is getting one." She took a bite of the omelet and perked up. "This is really good! Thank you."

"You're very welcome," Ruth said as she took a seat beside her while Bonnie got the kettle out and started on the stove. "So tell us a bit about yourself. How old are you?"

"I'm 23."

Bonnie smiled. "Ah. That's a bit older than I thought. You look young for your age." Ciel made a face, and Bonnie laughed. "That was a compliment, I promise! You'll be grateful when you're older, dear."

Ciel cracked a smile. "Well, in that case, thank you."

Bonnie left the water to boil and sat next to her wife. "Now, tell us, what was the last book you read?"

"Hm, I actually haven't been able to read something for fun in a long time. I think the last book I read that wasn't for research was The Great Gatsby."

Ruth pursed her lips. "Not a fan of that one, myself. It's always misinterpreted."

Ciel laughed. "I didn't like it either! I don't know much about literary analysis, but the characters were all terrible people. It wasn't any fun to read."

Ruth tapped the table a little, thinking. "Hm. You know what? I think you should try reading poetry. It's much easier to find time to read a few stanzas than a whole book. Do you like poetry?"

Ciel shrugged. "I haven't read much. I never learned much English in school. My education focused heavily on sciences and math. I've heard of a few guys, Robert Frost, Walt Whitman, you know."

Bonnie smiled. "Tell you what, how about you borrow one of our Shel Silverstein books? He was a children's writer, but he wrote some great stuff. He's easily my favorite."

Ciel perked up. "That sounds nice! I'd love to."

"Fantastic! I'll grab Where the Sidewalk Ends for you. Remind me when you leave."

"Will do! What other books do you recommend?"

As the conversation continued, Ciel found herself liking the two women more and more. She decided that she would be visiting them quite often.