“I remember you,” I said with a smile. “Are you here for another cookie?”

“I’ve been dreaming of magic, and I knew we had to go searching for it today,” said Angela.

Her mother glanced uneasily at the Cat. “We mean no harm.” Her hand tightened around the little girl’s. “Angela, what cookie do you want?”

The girl spun around and stared at the stands on the counter, barely able to see the edges. My thoughts raced, and a short stool rose from the floor next to the end of the counter.

“We have chocolate chip, peanut butter, and a cinnamon cookie of some kind,” I said. “There should be a little stool you can stand on at the end.” I motioned near the end of the counter.

Anglea’s head vanished, then appeared taller at the edge of the counter. “Oh, they all look so good. Mommy, can I have two? A chocolate chip and cinnamonmon one?” The girl mispronounced cinnamon in the most adorable way adding too many mons to the end of the word.

Her mother let out a sigh, then nodded. “It’s cinnamon, can you try again?”

“That’s what I said.” Yet Angela didn’t repeat the word.

“For here or to go?” I asked, interrupting the exchange. The girl flashed me a grin.

“Here’s fine. Can you steam a milk for her? And, I’ll take a large coffee to go.”

The Cat ignored the mother's pointed looks. His gaze turned to watch the trolls still studying on the long table next to the windows. Warm sunlight poured in the windows, making the green of the plates almost glow.

I plated the cookies and set them near the edge of the counter. The steamed milk went into a to-go cup with a lid, the same for the large coffee.

“Is that a dragon?” Angela’s voice came out in awe. “It's purple!”

Indigo landed on the counter, blinking at the little girl. The little book dragon took a step toward her, chirping and holding her head up.

The elves had gotten up and headed out the door without me realizing it.

“That’s Indigo. She’s a special dragon,” I said with a smile as Indigo jumped into the air and circled the little girl's head. I leaned down closer to the little girl. “She’s a book dragon. They love knowledge.”

Angela’s mouth dropped open and her eyes widened like saucers. “I love books too! We can be best friends!”

I chuckled at the scene.

The mother picked up the drinks. “Angela, grab your cookies. We need to make sure we stay on time for your appointment.”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“I’m moving.” She grabbed the plate of cookies and stepped off the stool, her head vanishing from view until she stepped far enough away from the counter.

Indigo kept flying overhead as her mother led the way to a small table near the bookshelves.

The little girl barely watched where she headed, instead keeping her eyes on the small dragon.

For a split second, a golden outline surrounded the little girl.

“Well, that’s one thing off my list,” I mumbled.

“Hmmm,” purred the Cat.

“They are the thing for today, you know.” I sipped my drink, savoring the moment.

Indigo flew over to the bookshelves and pulled out one of her favorite books, one that involved dragons. It wasn’t the special book, but a normal one from my world about dragons and spicy salsa. Given how smart Indigo was, it was under their reading level, but they still loved it.

Angela’s eye lit up and she broke a piece of her cookie off for Indigo. Then she started reading the book to the dragon. Her mother blinked with wide eyes and sipped her coffee in disbelief.

The Cat padded closer and rubbed his head against my arms where they were resting on the counter. I scratched behind his ears, making him purr in contentment.

“The pleasant moment,” I said, motioning with my mug at the scene in front of us. “You can’t tell me that isn’t cute. Two kids of very different species trying to talk about the books they love.”

He turned to watch the scene, saying nothing.

For a moment, I thought he wasn’t paying attention, then I realized he stared at the scene like he didn’t understand it at all.

I patted his head. “It could be a human thing, finding something like that cute and special.” My last sip emptied my mug. “Do you want another coffee?”

His tail flickered in the air before turning my way. “No, thank you.” He then turned and jumped off the counter and headed down the hallway. It didn’t take long before he appeared back on the balcony overlooking the shop.

I grinned to myself as I started on my own refill.

***

Cute.

What did cute even mean?

I didn’t understand what Sable implied about the two children interacting. That happened all the time at different points across the many worlds. Why was this instance cute?

It made little sense, and Sable had picked up on my confusion. Heading back up the stairs to watch things from above was the easier choice, rather than asking the questions inside my head. Pleasant, yes, right now the shop felt pleasant. The various patrons all chattered softly and focused on their own lives, not to mention drinking Sable’s fantastic beverages.

The cookies added sweetly to that. I’d placed the order when I realized the freezer didn’t have a back stock of Sable's favorite cookies. Given how she put up with me, she deserved a treat as well.

Unknown to her, time ticked by. Her contract had passed the halfway point, with all the jumping around various worlds and time spent working. While it had only recently hit the winter holidays on her world, the timekeeping abilities of the shop said it was otherwise.

I loved snow, but hated winter, and rarely let the season appear in my lands. Sometimes, if one of my children asked for it during the season, I’d let the soft fluffy flakes fall for a night. It always snowed for the Solstice, that was the one time the snow brought happiness and joy to all my children. Bitter cold and ice were a different story. I preferred the soft sunlight of late spring, and the warm breeze smelling of new life. The heat of summer always hung heavy in the air, so spring it was for my home. If I could only have the light snow of a late spring snow storm that’d be different.

The floorboards beneath me creaked, and I realized the path my thoughts had taken. Shaking my head, I padded away from watching the coffee shop down the hallway to my room. The warm fire awaited me. Sable could handle the rest of the day. I didn’t want to think about how lonely the shop would feel without her.