Page 32 of The Blue Moon Café & 24-Hour Occult Emporium

The bell above the café door rang out in answer.

“I finally cracked it this time! It’s not one story; it’s a bunch of them. A book of short stories!”

Simon’s black eyes bugged out of his canine skull as Dahlia charged into the café. Dahlia was so unfairly beautiful that morning, her loose curls tied up in a bun and a plum-colored sweater dress skimming her curves. Talula found herself croaking, “You look…really nice today.”

“And you’re always stunning.” Dahlia smiled at Talula.

Dahlia’s warm words and soft dimpled grin hit Talula like a bus. This is why they call it a crush, Talula thought, physically bracing herself against the counter. I’m being crushed by dimples.

Did she have any idea if Dahlia was outright flirting with her or just courteously returning a compliment? Absolutely not. And she had no idea how to find out. Or if she was even brave enough to find out.

As Talula tried to regain her composure, Dahlia knelt to greet Simon. “Hey Simon, still looking for your owners?”

“I decided to keep him for now. Until someone claims him,” Talula hurried to explain.

Dahlia tentatively offered her hand for Simon to sniff. He turned around and waddled away, nose in the air. She chuckled. “That’s one stuck-up dog.”

“You have no idea.” Talula ignored Simon’s glare and started Dahlia’s usual order. “But anyway, you were talking about short stories?”

“Yep. I was thinking of tying them together with a bigger story, like in The Illustrated Man or One Thousand and One Nights,” Dahlia explained, sitting at a counter stool instead of her usual armchair. “What do you think?”

“You’ll have the freedom to work within a bunch of different genres but play up the themes you like across all of them.” Talula turned toward Dahlia as she steamed milk. “It’s genius. I love it.”

“Good.” Dahlia locked eyes with Talula. “I wanted to text you about it last night, but I didn’t want to seem like too much.”

“Text me whenever about whatever,” Talula said.

“Yeah?” Dahlia asked eagerly.

“Absolutely,” Talula answered. The way Dahlia was looking at her made Talula’s head fill with the fizz of champagne bubbles. Dahlia’s eyes were such a warm, lively brown. Like freshly ground cloves or a smear of chocolate.

“HRMPH,” Simon grumbled. Not subtly.

Talula nearly jumped. After a quick dirty look at Simon, she added whipped cream to the mug and presented it to Dahlia.

“Thank you. And, I wanted to ask…could I order a grilled cheese?” Dahlia drummed her fingers on the countertop nervously. “I don’t want to be one of those annoying, overbearing customers that thinks they’re cool with the barista and can ask for special favors.”

“I would never think that about you,” Talula said resolutely. “Grilled cheese sandwiches are what friends are for, right?”

“Of course! Friends!” Dahlia said very brightly, though her smile seemed slightly strained. “Good. I want to be friends if you want to be friends. Friends are good.”

“I do.” Talula smiled. “And also, it’s breakfast time.”

“So?” Dahlia asked, still with that funny smile.

“So I can do better than grilled cheese.” Talula dramatically exited through the Employees Only door, Dahlia’s laughter buoying her straight to the Voltlette. She heard the prim footsteps of an obnoxious magical being behind her.

“What was that?”

Talula set a pan on the electric cooktop. “What was what?”

“Are you really giving up a whole day of training just so you can ogle that human?”

“I’m not ogling anyone,” Talula protested.

“I’m an ancient sorcerer who has passed between the fibers of reality like water through a sieve. I’ve watched stars give birth to gods and monsters. My mind is like a living archive of the Library of Alexandria,” Simon said in a deep, all-knowing sorcerer voice. “I know ogling when I see it.”

“Fine. I may do a tiny bit of very respectful ogling” Talula switched on the toaster oven. “But Dahlia’s our only usual customer, and she’s my friend.”