Page 4 of Shift Happens
After lunch, I set Milo to organizing a display of new releases while I helped customers. I kept glancing over, expecting disaster, but he was meticulously arranging comics with surprising care. His tongue poked out slightly in concentration,and there was something oddly captivating about watching his small, deft hands handling the books with such reverence.
The afternoon rush hit, and I was busy with a line of customers when I heard a crash followed by Milo’s distinctive yelp. I finished ringing up the current sale before investigating, only to find him surrounded by scattered action figures, looking mortified.
“I just wanted to dust under them,” he explained miserably. “But they were like dominoes.”
“It’s okay,” I said, crouching to help collect the figures. “No harm done.”
“I’m making more work for you.” His voice had a slight tremor. “I’m trying to be careful, but my body doesn’t always listen. In wolf—” He stopped abruptly, eyes widening as if he’d said something forbidden.
“In what?”
“In… wolfing… down lunch,” he stammered. “I was too rushed. Made me clumsy. Sorry.”
That made absolutely no sense, but before I could question him further, the bell jangled as more customers entered.
“Don’t worry about it,” I said, standing. “Just finish picking these up and then you can help me at the register.”
The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur of customers, questions, and minor Milo-generated catastrophes. By closing time, I was exhausted but oddly satisfied. Despite the chaos, we’d had a good sales day.
“Did I do okay?” Milo asked as I locked the register. “For a first week?”
He looked so earnestly concerned that I couldn’t help but soften. “You broke three things, spilled two drinks, and somehow managed to get a comic stuck in the ceiling fan—which I’m still trying to figure out physically how—but yes, I think you did okay.”
His shoulders relaxed. “I’ll be better next week. I promise.”
“I believe you.” And strangely enough, I did.
As he gathered his things to leave, I noticed him sniffing the air and frowning.
“Everything alright?”
“Storm coming,” he said confidently. “Big one. You should check your roof before bed.”
I glanced out the window at the perfectly clear evening sky. “There’s no storm forecast.”
He just shrugged, pulling on his hoodie. “It’s coming. I can smell it.”
I was about to dismiss his comment as another of his oddities when he suddenly stepped very close to me. Before I could react, he rose on his tiptoes and—did he just sniff my neck?
“Uh, Milo? Personal space?”
He jumped back as if burned. “Sorry! Pack greeting. Family habit. Won’t happen again.” His face was flaming red.
“Right. Well… see you Monday?”
He nodded vigorously and practically bolted out the door.
I shook my head, climbing the stairs to my apartment above the shop. Milo was without question the strangest person I’d ever met, but there was something about him that lingered in my thoughts as I made dinner, showered, and settled in with a book.
At exactly 11:42 PM, as I was drifting off to sleep, the first crack of thunder shook my windows. Within minutes, rain was pounding against the roof in sheets.
I sat up in bed, staring out at the storm that definitely hadn’t been in the forecast.
He smelled it coming? How the hell…
That night, I dreamed of amber eyes and small, warm hands carefully organizing comic books. And somewhere in that dream, a wolf howled at a full moon, its voice somehow familiar.
Chapter 2
