Page 42 of The Jorogumo

I snickered at his excitement, and pulled my phone down to show him all the movies.

"There's also a different franchise forX-Men.Spider-Manalso has a few different versions," I told him, and he listened intently, his eyes flicking from movie to movie. "Marvelalso has a whole bunch of shows."

"Can we watch them all?"

Smiling fondly, I gave him a kiss on the cheek as I nodded. "Of course we can."

"Awesome!"

Convincing Haruto that we should get some sleep took a while, but when I reminded him I had to wake up early to open the store on time, he finally relented. His enthusiasm made me smile, though, and I fell asleep with it still on my face.

The next morning, I left the Sanctuary too early for breakfast, and Haruto made me promise I'd get something from the bakery.

I was smiling the whole time as I made my way to the store with my head in the clouds, which was why it took me a moment to realize the door was unlocked.

I stopped short with my hand on the handle, unsure what to expect. People didn't generally try to rob a comic book store—nothing of value unless you knew what you were looking for—but there was a first time for everything, right?

Wishing Haruto was here, I took a deep breath as I pushed the door open, and then relaxed almost instantly when I spotted the 'intruder.'

"Mrs. Warner," I greeted, the surprise clear in my voice. "You scared me. I thought someone broke in."

Mrs. Dahlia Warner was a woman in her sixties, with long gray hair she braided down her back, laugh lines, and an ever-present smile that fooled people into underestimating her skills. She was also the owner of this fine establishment.

"Oh, Liam, I'm sorry I gave you a scare. Come, give me a hug."

Walking over to her with a smile, I wrapped up the much smaller woman in my arms, giving her a light squeeze. She was the closest thing I had to a real mother, which was saying something since my own mother was well and alive.

"It's good to see you, ma'am."

"You too, honey. You look good. Happy," she said, making me blush. "And don't think I didn't notice you're just getting home."

Smiling, I shrugged as I stepped back, scratching my chin. "I met someone."

"You really like them, huh?" she asked with a smile, and I nodded quickly.

"He's amazing."

"Good, good. I'm happy for you. I told you you'd find someone, didn't I?"

"You did," I agreed with a grin, then asked. "What are you doing here? Not that I'm not glad to see you."

Her smile softened, and she sighed. "I'm in the city for a month, so I thought I'd come see you. I called earlier, but it didn't go through."

Frowning, I pulled my phone out of my pocket, then sighed when I realized it was dead.

"Sorry, phone's dead," I explained as I walked around the counter to plug it in, and she waved me off.

"The reason I'm here," she said, giving me a look I couldn't parse, "is I'm thinking of selling this place."

I froze, my mind going blank and empty as her words filtered through, dropping in like pennies, every penny clanking louder than the one before.

"What? We've been doing good, haven't we?" I asked, but what I meant was,I'vebeen doing good, haven'tI?

"We have, sweetie. But I'm retiring soon, and no one in my family is interested in owning this place. I spent years running this store, and I'd like it to go to someone who would love it as much as I do, and I know my kids aren't the right fit for it. I think it'll be better if I sell."

I nodded mutely. It wasn't like I could argue, because she was right. It would be better for the shop to be in the hands of someone who treasured it, someone who knew how to run it, someone who wanted it.

It didn't seem like she was done speaking, and I held my breath as I waited, and hoped she wasn't about to fire me.

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