RPOV
A link to his car is on my main page, you'll understand.
It is time, time to do what I have not done for so many years. It is time to mingle again. If she has come, then to be caught unawares would be terrible, very terrible indeed.
Charlie watches me as I put on jeans and a button down shirt. I hate wearing these clothes. I have watched fashions come and go, but none of them have appealed to me. I finish the outfit with comfortable leather boots. I could never bring myself to wear anything but these over the years.
"How do I look?" I ask Charlie. He cocks his head and looks back at me barking once indicating I look decent enough.
"Alright, thanks." I reply with a laugh. I look back at him and ask another question, "Want to come with me?" He jumps up to put his paws on my chest while wagging his tail. "I will presume that is a yes. You better behave yourself though." He nods his head in understanding and promise.
We leave our house and uncover our rarely used vehicle, an Audi R8. It is light silver with red and black pinstripes. Extremely fast transportation is one of my weaknesses. My long existence has taught me the value of skills over wealth or money. One of these skills that I have acquired over the years is the maintenance and upkeep of vehicles. You know, how to tweak things here and there. I back out of the garage onto my gravel drive and down to the highway. I live in a secluded area as to disturb anyone else and also to not be disturbed by anyone but the random lost hiker every now and then. Other than that, I am left alone and I enjoy it this way.
We move along the highway at a good, illegal speed, until we reach the town of Hamilton, New York. It's a college town, home to Colgate University. Caelwyn owns the wonderful bookstore that augments the college's own bookstore, supplies many of the textbooks to the students. I did quite a bit of research about her store and living. She just is such a curious creature.
We get there and I let Charlie out with me. I cautiously walk in with Charlie on my heels. A small bell rings as we enter the shop. A girl with beautiful auburn hair glances up and smiles. I have never met her before so I smile in return and seemingly begin searching for a book.
I can hear her in the back room with the friend she was with at the apartment. For some reason, I am unable to hear what they are saying exactly. They must be talking in hushed tones as not to alert the auburn haired girl. They laugh and come out into the front.
"Karla, what do you want to do today, coffee shop or cashier books?" I hear Caelwyn ask.
Karla must be the auburn haired girl because I hear her respond, "I think I'd like to work the coffee shop today."
"Alright Gwen and I will work in the bookstore then. Gwen how about you run the cash register and I will stock books."
"That sounds good to me; I can catch up on some of my reading then." The third one answered.
I move towards the back of the store so as to not alert Caelwyn that I am here. Charlie disappeared the moment we stepped through the door, that's why he hasn't been detected yet. I would bet money that he is waiting for the chance to ambush Caelwyn. I hear a thud and take a mental note that I was correct.
I run towards the thud to hear, "What the hell are you doing here Charlie?" I see her start to get up some while trying to scratch his ears too. He's wagging his tail just the happiest pup in the world.
I shake my head and ask, "Are you alright?"
She startles at my question and just stares at me. I begin to wonder if she's the same woman who has visited my home twice now. "I asked, are you okay?"
"Oh yea," she says as she shakes her head some, "I'm okay. Is this your dog?"
I laugh, "I can't say he belongs much to anyone, but yes, I'll claim him today." I smile at her.
"Dogs are not allowed in here you know. I would be facing a major fine if he was found in here." She turns to Charlie, "Make sure no one sees you in here except me and Gwen. Stay away from the coffee shop, Karla hates dogs." She makes a face at that last statement. Evidently Karla disliking dogs is a problem sometimes.
She stands up, "Can I help you find anything today?"
"I am looking for a new copy of Dracula. My old copy is completely worn out." I respond with a glint in my eye. If she was going to play dumb as to whom I am, I will play along. Charlie just follows us along. He really is behaving himself.
"Okay it's over here in S. The unique aspect of this bookstore is that every book we have is alphabetical by author. We do not have sections for books, they're all mingled together."
"That's interesting. I have not seen any bookstore or library put together this way in many, many years." I reply with a smirk.
Her eyes widen a bit but quickly go back to looking along the shelf. "Ah, here it is." She pulls it from the shelf and hands it to me. "And here you go. Are you looking for anything else?"
"Nope, if I need something else I can most likely find it with this simple system."
"Okay, make sure to keep the dog away from the food area." She turns to Charlie, "If you behave I'll make sure a treat comes your way when Mr. Sir here checks out." Caelwyn scratches his ears one more times, smiles, and walks away.
What an interesting woman I think to myself, what an interesting woman.
I wander around some more before I decide that it's time to go check out. The girl at the counter has glasses and seems to appraise me head to toe as I approach. She glances down at Charlie, but no surprise registers. It seems as if she's been tipped off. I quickly do the same; I jump to a conclusion. This must be Gwen. I walk up to the counter and sit down the book. Charlie follows closely on my heels.
"Hello, is this all for you today sir?" She asks politely trying to hide her curiosity. I must give her credit; it's only just barely visible.
"Yes, I believe it will be. I should be returning though, your place is quaint. I like it." I respond just as politely. I surprise myself by realizing this is the truth. My initial intention was to come and see, not to return, much less make promises of returning.
"Well, I am glad you enjoyed your visit to our store. It means a lot to us."
"Are you three here every day of the week?"
"Yes, we all have part ownership so we are here every day. Caelwyn has the largest percentage because she put the most into the shop. She still does actually." She added the last part a tad pensively.
"I will keep that in mind. Good day to you Gwen." I turn to leave but hear Caelwyn yell, "Wait!"
"Yes?"
"Charlie, I can't believe you almost left without your treat!" She comes down to his level before he can pounce on her again. She hands him a bun with a caution. "I want you to take this outside before you eat it because if you don't you will get the filling all over my floor. I don't want to have to clean this filling off the floor."
He prances away with this bun in his mouth like it is the prize of all prizes. I decide to follow him but not before I ask, "What is the filling?"
"Homemade barbeque pork is the filling. It is hell on wheels to get out of anything, especially carpet. I am glad he listens so well." She turns to me, "You have a good afternoon."
"You do the same, good day."
I walk out to find Charlie waiting in the car for me. He looks like he has had the best meal of his life and is ready for a nap.
"Was that delicious Charlie?" I ask him. He nods in response and licks his jaws in remembrance. I wish I could still taste that kind of stuff.
CPOV
I shake my head as I walk towards the front. Gwen has always done things her way. She researches more than anything else. She always has something new to think about. That girl is a walking encyclopedia; she knows everything.
"Karla, what do you want to do today, coffee shop or cashier books?" I ask her because I know Gwen will be good with whatever Karla doesn't want and I always shelve books and help customers on the floor if I'm not working in the back.
She smiles at me and responds with, "I think I'd like to work the coffee shop today."
"Alright, Gwen and I will work in the bookstore then. Gwen how about you run the cash register and I will stock books."
"That sounds good to me, I can catch up on some of my reading then." Gwen replies with a grin. God, I have to love her. She goes with the flow so well.
I start by finding a box of books that need to be shelved after students decided this was a library. This is what we get for being basically a university's bookstore. Oh well, it's good money, and fun too. I think with a smile.
I start at A just like I always do and move my way through. Partway through the C section Charlie comes bounding out of nowhere and knocks me over again. This dog is so rambunctious!!
"What the hell are you doing here Charlie?" I get up while scratching his ears to keep him from knocking me over again. He is wagging his tail so hard it might come off.
While I'm doing this I hear, "Are you alright?" from that beautiful voice of Raven. I look up and immediately become entranced. Is he really here? What is he doing here anyways?
"I asked, are you okay?" He repeats himself.
"Oh yea," I intelligently respond, "I'm okay. Is this your dog?" like I didn't know who he was or who this dog is. I could mentally smack myself right now, and I am. Damn his gorgeousness.
He laughs at me, "I can't say he belongs much to anyone, but yes, I'll claim him today."
Then he smiles. I get lost again in his smile but -I think- more quickly regained my god given sense. What does this man do to me? my goodness.
"Dogs are not allowed in here you know. I would be facing a major fine if he was found in here." I turn to Charlie knowing he understands me perfectly. "Make sure no one sees you in here except me and Gwen. Stay away from the coffee shop, Karla hates dogs." I make a face at him so he understands it's just her. I love him; he's so cute.
I face back to Raven, "Can I help you find anything today?"
"I am looking for a new copy of Dracula. My old copy is completely worn out." I notice he has this mischievous glint in his eye like he knows something I don't' want him to know. It's almost like he is challenging me.
"Okay, it's over here in S. The unique aspect of this bookstore is that every book we have is alphabetical by author. We do not have sections for books, they're all mingled together." I efficiently respond.
"That's interesting. I have not seen any bookstore or library put together this way in many, many years." He says this with a smirk, again like he knows something I don't.
As we reach section S I smile and pull the book from teh shelf saying, "Ah, here it is." I hand him the book and ask, "And here you go. Are you looking for anything else?"
"Nope, if I need something else I can most likely find it with this simple system."
I'm not sure if I should take his statement as insult or not so I respond with, "Okay, make sure to keep the dog away from the food area." I turn to Charlie one more time and scratch his ears again. "If you behave I'll make sure a treat comes your way when Mr. Sir here checks out."
I walk, then proceed to run away from him and the dog. I forget what I was doing and go straight to Gwen. I needed to tell her what just happened.
"GWEN! You will never guess who is here." I whisper quickly into her ear.
"Who is here?"
"HIM, He is here. I don't know how. I don't know why. He has Charlie with him too." I smile at that. I really do like that dog. "I'll tell you more tonight, just know he has a dog in the store and that he is buying a book. He will be up any minute. I need to go get Charlie a promised treat. Be right back."
I move to go find Karla and the pastries. I know just what to get Charlie.
"Hey Karla, How's it going over here?"
"Pretty good Cael, how's the book section?"
"It's going okay, if those kids would stop leaving the books off the shelves I'd be even better. I'm hungry though so I was just going to grab one of these pastries. I love them."
"Alright, just make sure if you eat it in front of Gwen you bring one to her too, otherwise she'll be livid."
I laugh, "Alright, advice duly noted. Thanks Karla!"
She responds with a "No problem." as she smiles.
As I walk back over to the register I can see Raven conversing with Gwen at the register. As I get closer I can hear what they're saying.
Gwen is talking when I come into earshot, "--has the largest percentage because she put the most into the shop. She still does actually."
"I will keep that in mind. Good day to you Gwen." He turns to leave and as he does, I yell out.
"Wait!"
He turns around, "Yes?"
"Charlie, I can't believe you almost left without your treat!" I bend down so I can look him in the eyes, "I want you to take this outside before you eat it because if you don't you will get the filling all over my floor. I don't want to have to clean this filling off the floor." I hand him the bun and he cautiously takes it outside. If I didn't know better, I'd say he was prancing, cautiously prancing, with the bun in his mouth.
"What is the filling?" He asks.
"Homemade barbeque pork is the filling. It is hell on wheels to get out of anything, especially carpet. I am glad he listens so well." I turn from watching Charlie with his prize, "You have a good afternoon."
He responds with, "You do the same, good day."
He walks out of my store, gets into his car, and drives away.
If my heart to beat any faster I would be a hummingbird. Gwen is staring just as hard as I am, her façade finally breaking.
"Wow, he is gorgeous. Where did he come from?" She asks breathlessly.
"I don't know where he comes from. I now believe those dreams are real. If I die in the dream I die in real life kind of real." I make this revelation and immediately wish to shrink in fear. This is ridiculous. How can he be real? How can he find his way to my bookstore of all bookstores? How is it the dog can find me anywhere and understand me? I have managed to confuse myself at this point and decide to push it out of my head for tonight. Gwen and I will decide what to do about him and everything else tonight. Until then, there is work to be done.
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This is a long chapter. Hopefully you guys enjoy it. I still have noone reading this, but oh well. In time, they shall come. :)
I hope adding Raven becomes more known and understood. If you have questions I will answer them. Otherwise, happy reading!