“Books!” Molly launched herself across the room with all of the energy one of her age contained. She headed straight for the children’s section, leaving her bag in the middle of the floor. Her coat hung from her shoulders as she pulled a book into her lap.
The door bell rang again as her father walked in. For once, he said nothing, and that made worry.
Dark circles guarded his eyes, and he wore a coat, plus a hat and gloves.
Compared to Molly, he was dressed like it was much colder out.
“Molly, don’t spend all your birthday money today,” he said, as he walked in my direction.
I imdiately worked on a hot chocolate, and a cookie appeared on a plate behind the Cat.
“Good morning, can I get you a coffee?” I asked, searching his face.
“Ah, yes, that would be perfect. No sugar and just a little cream.” Usually, he went with just a basic coffee.
I added a little cream, along with the espresso and hot water in a to-go cup.
“Can Molly have a cookie to celebrate her birthday?” I whispered to him.
He nodded and smiled, which lit up his entire face. “She’d love that. We’re skipping school today to go to a museum.”
“Dad! I found two books!” She held up a brand new dinosaur book, plus a chapter book, sothing she hadn’t grabbed before. It had dinosaurs on the cover, along with people in a fantasy settlent.
“Bring them over, but grab your backpack and coat on the way,” he said, still smiling. Her coat had fallen to the floor at so point.
Her small hot chocolate already sat on the counter next to the cookie.
Suddenly, she sped up. “Cookie! Today is the best day ever. I got two books and a cookie!”
“Don’t forget the hot chocolate,” I said with a grin. She was just so cute. “Happy Birthday.”
I rang the books up and his coffee, but not her cookie or the hot chocolate. For once he didn’t argue.
“I get to see dinosaurs in person,” Molly told as her father paid. She bounced on her toes as she reached for the cookie.
Her father put the books in her backpack, but swung it over his shoulder. “You need your coat actually on before we go outside.”
After rolling her eyes, she slid her puffy coat on and even zipped it up, but then she took a big bite of the slightly warm cookie.
“Have fun at the museum. They usually have the best gift shops!” I waved as they headed to the door, but Molly’s eyes went sideways at the last part.
She mumbled sothing around cookie bits as the door closed.
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Her father didn’t look as rough as he had last ti they were in the shop, and Molly’s mood was ecstatic. Hopefully things were going better for them.
The door bell rang again just as I sat.
Boxes piled high on a cart were the first thing, before soone waved from behind them.
“Got a big order today,” said Adam. He parked them next to the counter then rushed back out of the shop. A gust of wind raced through before it vanished. Then he marched back in with another load.
The Cat jumped to the first stack, sniffing.
“Need your signature today,” he said with a grin.
I signed the clipboard, as I eyed the boxes. “I guess it’s inventory today.”
“Good luck!” He said. Then he was gone as well.
“What did you order?” asked the Cat in an almost shocked voice. “This, this is way more than our order.”
I snorted. “Don’t look at .”
I hurried around the counter and pulled the first box onto it. “I only ordered grocery items from the warehouse store for the fridge. Things like heavy cream, milk, and stuff for iced coffee. Nothing that’s shelf stable in boxes.”
The first box contained three pretty pillows, each one a different color and lined with fringe. Not to ntion super soft.
The rest were equally confusing, though I found an invoice that said I’d ordered them.
“This says you did,” said the Cat, but he sounded confused.
I shook my head, also confused. “Nope. I’m not one to buy household stuff like this.”
We piled the stuff up after taking it out of boxes. Pretty stained glass sun catchers, a cat bed, plus a bunch of hair ties. Along with even more pillows and blankets.
The first stack of boxes contained stuff for the shop. Random blocks of clay, still wrapped up tight. Weirdly enough, steel nails, and a tool set, plus so more art supplies. All of that vanished into the floor after the Cat checked it out.
“That order is correct,” he said, staring at the rest of the stuff with his whiskers shaking.
I checked my order history on my phone and, yep, the orders ca from my account. My eyes widened as several more pending ones remained that still hadn’t been processed yet.
I sighed as a single thought crossed my mind, before I swallowed hard.
“Indigo…” I whispered. She had my laptop, and I hadn’t restricted any of the websites. Plus, I usually stayed logged in, because passwords were a pain. “Indigo!”
Chirping drifted down from above, then a bright purple blur launched themselves over the railing and right to the pillows. “It ca!”
A rock grew in my stomach, and I took a deep breath before letting it out.
She crashed into the pillows with glee. “They all ca!”
I sat on my stool as the Cat found a space on the overcrowded counter.
“Hey, Indigo, we need to talk for a mont,” I kept my voice soft, thinking of how much money this all had cost. Each of those pillows were handmade, and cost more than my entire bed set-up in my room.
Indigo spun around and marched over to so happily.
“Why did you buy all of this?” I motioned to the stuff on the counter.
“Gifts!” She said without a care in the world. “Sapphire needs stuff. Her ho isn’t any fun, and I wanted to surprise her.”
My heart shattered.
“Did you talk about this with Lady Twilight?” I asked, trying to buy myself ti to think this through.
She shook her head, picking up on my mood. “Is it a problem?”
“Well, things cost money, and before you spend money online, you should talk to to make sure we have that money available.”
“I have money,” said Indigo, her eyes going wide. “Lots of money.”
Before I could respond, she took off to her hideaway and vanished.
“She has money?” I asked the Cat.
He flicked his tail in my direction. “She is a dragon who knows how currency works, with them at least.”
Indigo carefully flew in my direction, this ti with her little bag around her middle. She landed and then pulled a brick of gold out. “Lady Twilight said it's money.”
It landed on the counter with a thud.
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