Moonlit Futures

Lexi POV

9 Days Later

"Better watch yourself old man or you're going to break a hip!" I told Dale laughingly as he danced to the beat of the music. Seeing him glance up from the cake he was working on to glare at me I let loose a laugh.

"I have never had a more disrespectful brat in my kitchen." Dale started mumbling to himself as he worked. Laughing even harder I almost fell over when I heard Amber's voice from near the cash register.

"He said the same thing to me too Lexi. Don't let the old fart lie to you like that." Grinning at each other like fools we both turned to face Dale who was still mumbling under breath. Giggling at how grumpy he looked I glanced over at Amber as she sighed and went over to hug him.

"What would mom say about you grumbling about the teasings of two little girls like that." She teased him.

"She'd side with me!" He spat out playfully.

"Really Pops? You want to try that?" Grinning like a fool as the two argued I slid the last of the bread from the pans and wrapped it up. Looking over at the clock I took my apron off and went over to sit on the stool. Watching as Dale's hands worked skillfully with the icing filled bag, I watched him create swirling designs. 

"Could you teach me that Dale?" Looking up at his face I saw him give me a measuring look.

"Not on this cake." Huffing out at him I gave him my best puppy dog look.

"Tomorrow's you're day off?" He looked over at me.

"Yup." I told him popping the P as I grabbed a tiny bit of leftover dough to roll between my fingers.

"Come by the house tomorrow then and we'll get you started. You can stay for dinner and help lazy bones over there clean up." Smiling wide I leaned on the stool to shoot Amber a smile too. Making faces at her I heard Dale asking me what I wanted for dinner. Amber started mouthing lasagna at me. Winking at her I dutifully told Dale my selection. Stopping his work for a second he glanced up at me over his glasses, then turned to Amber. Glancing back at my smiling face he leveled a steady gaze over his glasses again.

"You want lasagna?"

"Yeah, and garlic bread." I said cheekily, catching Amber miming the words to me. Hearing him sigh and get back to work I shot Amber a double thumbs up before asking if they needed anything else. Making sure my space was wiped clean I grabbed my small bag from the hook before heading out the door. 

Walking down the street I waved at a few people before coming to a stop in front of the small book store. Pushing the door open I walked in and took a deep breath. Walking to the front counter I saw Penny fiddling with something under the counter. Looking over I saw her stacking several fallen books. Leaning back I waited until she stood up with the stack. 

"Oh God Lexi! You are just so quiet!!" Penny said with a laugh. Placing the stack of books on the counter she gestured to them. "You have great timing though! I just pulled the last of these for you. Romance, strong female characters, some mystery and an odd ball or two." Grinning at her I sorted through the stack.

"You don't have to take them all or any of them! I promise you won't hurt my feelings, I just tried to go off of what you have read in the past and get some ideas together. How's your current read going?"

"Finished it last night. I loved the ending. I did want to chuck at the wall in the middle though. They killed off my favorite character." Looking over the back of the book at her, I flashed her a quick smile before going back to scanning the books. Holding up one I looked at her curiously.

"I told you an odd ball or two. I know you don't do older books, but this one you may like." Shrugging I stuck it back on the pile.

"You are the expert Penny. I'll try them all. Did you want the other book back?"

"Lexi, you know the rules! It's your book, you bought it. Only bring it back if you don't want to keep it. I'll credit you back for those you cycle back through here and use that towards your next purchase." Rolling her eyes at me she laughed lightly. Mocking an angry face we chatted about books for a few more minutes before I took my pile and left. Setting off towards the house, I let my thoughts drift to the letter sitting open on my desk. I was debating on whether to finish writing it or not. Shaking my head, I nodded at Amber as I passed the bakery, watching her laugh at me through the window. Sticking out my tongue I trudged back towards Mrs. Lorraine's.