Delmy could not wait to get out of the car. She had been cramped in the backseat for two hours, and having all these boxes and things around her wasn’t helping either. This new town they were going to, unlike the other five places she had lived in since she was six, was going to be their permanent home. Her parents had scouted out the place a few months prior and had decided that it would be the final settling place for the Skjavro family.

“Delmy, now remember you have to go around delivering the flyers, once we’ve unpacked the car,” Her mother reminded her from the front seat. Delmy rolled her eyes and inwardly groaned.

“I remember,” she replied. What she wanted to tell her mother was to take a chill pill; they’d have enough to deal without having to worry about flyer deliveries. Besides, it was nearing dinner time on a Sunday, most businesses would be closed or closing by the time she got around to the task.

“Linha, that can wait until tomorrow,” Her dad gently suggested. Her mom frowned but didn’t say anything. “Callo, everything’s all set with the school, and you know how to get there and stuff. Delmy will walk with you and then go off with the flyers.”

“He’s not a kid anymore, Dad,” Delmy said at the same time her brother, Calloway, said, “I’m not a kid anymore, Dad.”

“While that may be true, your sister isn’t as directionally challenged as you are, Callo,” their father laughed.

“I can’t argue with that,” Delmy muttered. Callo playfully punched his older sister in the arm, and settled back in his seat as they made the last twenty minutes into town.

Delmy had to admit she was impressed with the place. It had a sizeable center town area; a couple of nice looking stores; and the houses were very nice. What surprised and pleased her the most was that the whole area seemed to be surrounded by forest. It was beautiful, and she was sure to find a couple of good spots to read a book, or work on some writing.

Ah, writing.

She had been waiting for the perfect time to bring it up with her parents. They expected her to stay and work in their event planning business, and she wanted to write. There had been only one time before that she’d brought it up, in her second to last year of high school. Her class had been filling in mock career sheets, and she’d put novelist. Her parents had laughed and said it was cute. They’d called it cute, and then said that she was going to put the family business when it came time for the real one, right?

She hadn’t brought it up since.

“We’re here!”

Delmy snapped out of her thoughts to see that they had puled into the drive of a very stately looking two-story French style house. She had seen it in the pictures her parents had taken, but it was nothing compared to the real thing. She was used to moving around, and had seen a lot of different houses, but this was definitely on the more upscale side.

Now that her father had gotten her out of going into town, Delmy took her time with unpacking and exploring the property. Her room was on in the converted attic, giving her a space all to herself. She was grateful for it, especially since the picture window that had been installed faced a large tree and had a cozy little seat that looked perfect for reading. There was a nice little spot already set up for her pet salamander Joo, and she tucked the little travel cage underneath a warming lamp. She unpacked her essentials – the rest could wait until later in the week – and made her way through the house and down to the backyard.

She was happy to see that there was no fence blocking her entry from the forest that straddled the property. It was such a lure for her creative mind, and she couldn’t wait until she had enough time to take a walk through it and find a little hiding spot for herself. This week would be one of adjustment, that was for sure, but maybe it wouldn’t be all that bad.

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Delmy had wandered back into the house, looking for Callo. She found him in his room, where he was preparing his clothes for the next day while simultaneously wiggling across the floor to the music playing on his iPad.

“Having fun?” She asked, leaning against the doorway, smirking at him. He jumped, and scowled at her.

“Don’t do that, Delarosa,” he said, using her full name. He only used it when she scared him like that, or he was angry with her. She just grinned wider and stepped into the room. “And yes, I was having fun.”

“Nice digs,” she said, gesturing to the spacious room. It had been painted a greyish white on three of the walls, with exposed brick on the left wall. He’d already begun to hang some things – he obviously had more patience than she did when it came to unpacking – and the room was starting to look distinctly his already. She had to admit, for a sixteen year old boy, he was really neat and particular about the way he kept his living space.

“Mom and Dad said they’ve got to go over to the office to drop things off before tomorrow,” Callo told her, turning down the music a bit. “They’ve left already, I think.”

“Didn’t take them to long,” Delmy muttered, rolling her eyes. “I swear the only reason mom knows what the kitchen looks like is because she told the designers what to do. God forbid she used it to actually cook something.” Callow cracked a grin and shuddered.

“I know, I’d be worried if all of a sudden she started cooking,” he joked. “We’d have to hire a live in poison tester.”

It was a well-known fact in the Skjavro family that Julinha Skjavro nee Peterson was a horrible cook, mostly due in part to her workaholic tendencies and lack of actual practice in the kitchen. Delmy and her father were the two cooks of the family, and no one had a problem with that.

Suddenly, Delmy heard a voice floating up from the ground floor. Thinking it was maybe her parents come back having forgotten something, Delmy left Callow and headed down. She was surprised to find a young man with his head poked through the open front door.

“Hello; everything okay in there? I'm Arturo DeGari, I've brought some things that you may need as well as some food..." His voice trailed off just as Delmy hit the last step. He was holding some sort of hamper and glass cookware, and looked a little confused at the fact that the door was open with no one in sight. She had to admit that it was a little bold, what with all of their things still being left out in the open, and them being relatively new to town. She didn’t know how these people were, and she hoped she wouldn’t have to find out anything negative right off the bat.

“Uh, Hello Arturo DeGari,” Delmy greeted, reaching out to take the dish from him. He didn't look like he was struggling, but she could only assume he was bringing it for her family, and it he admittedly looked a little silly standing there holding the floral-patterned dish.

“I’m Delarosa Skjavro; nice to meet you.”

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"It's a pleasure to meet you Delarosa," Arturo said. Delmy never really went by Delarosa, thinking it sounded so grandmother-ish, but it was nice to hear it in Arturo's voice. Soothing almost. "I have some cleaning products, fabric softener, a bottle of wine. Red, I'm afraid the White wine is as dry as sand dune. There are a few books, some coupons for the stores in town as well as some menus. And in your hand is a Ratatouille which just needs warming through. Also some bread, milk and sugar along with normal and herbal tea bags." He gave a soft chuckle, and again, Delmy found the sound soothing.

"Would you like me to give you a hand with the boxes? I can just bring them in ce n'est pas un problème (It's no problem). It's not due to rain but you never know with Mother Nature." He was french, Delmy figured, given his use of the language so flawlessly integrated with his English.

He seemed interesting, this Arturo DeGari. Certainly, he was nice, but he was also very good looking, and Delmy could tell he wasn't lacking for female admirers. She was especially fascinated with his eyes -- they were blue, but they shimmered, as if deciding on whether they wanted to stay blue or change to a different color.

"That's really nice of you," she replied. Then, realizing he was still there holding the hamper, she mentally smacked herself. "Where are my manners? Please come in. The kitchen is this way, I think. We can leave the food items in there. Ah, and please, call me Delmy. It's less grandmother-ish." She began to make her way to the kitchen, or what she hoped was the kitchen, if she remembered correctly.

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Delmy saw Arturo pull a few books from the hamper, and wanted to look, but held back. She would have plenty of time for that tomorrow.

“Delarosa is a beautiful name; I'd say it was a mature name, rather than a grandmothers name. At least you don't sound like an aristocratic French governor.” He gave a small shrug and pulled out the rest of the items from the hamper. Delmy took his momentary distraction to let a big smile show and her cheeks flush with color. No one had ever said that about her name before, and it was nice.

“The hamper is yours to keep, by the way, as well as the oven proof dish. My mother gets the exact same one from my grandmother for her birthday and Christmas every year. So she has taken to leaving them where she can so when she heard that there was a new family moving in she leapt at the opportunity to make something. But she says that moving is stressful enough without having to worry about cooking a meal.” Delmy was sure her dad would be grateful for the dish. He had a habit of being a bit overzealous when it came to baking and had broken a few of their dishes in the past. She supposed it was best then, that he was the head of the catering division of their event planning business; it allowed him to be in the kitchen without breaking things.

“If I start bringing the boxes in can you tell me where they go? I won't go through your things; I promise.” Delmy was momentarily distracted by his figure (what girl wouldn’t be? The man was fit) and blinked a few times before realizing he had already gone ahead and began gathering boxes. He was much stronger than her, taking two boxes to her one, and she was grateful for his help.

“Delmy? Who’s the help?” Callo asked as he came downstairs as Delmy was going up. He nodded towards Arturo who’d just come back in the front with more boxes. “Not that I’m complaining. Boxes I don’t have to move are my favorite kinds of boxes.” With a shrug, he went back up stairs and left the Delmy and Arturo staring after him.

“That’s my little brother Calloway, but everyone just calls him Cal or Callo,” She introduced, despite her brothers departure. “Nevermind him though; Let’s get these boxes up to my room. I think these are the last of them that go up there. My parents should be back to figure out where the rest of the stuff goes.” She led him up to the attic, and set the boxes down near the picture window.

She directed him to set his boxes near the table where Joo was set up; most of it was the things Delmy used to care for the little salamander. "This window seat will look great covered with books, don't you think?"

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"It's should be a good place; you haven't got any moisture problems, but to be safe I'd keep the books about ten inches from the window. Then you haven't got to worry about temperature changes that causes the pages to bend a little. The sun’s a good distance away so you won't have no bleaching problems on the pages." He explained pointing to where he would put the bookshelf. "I own the bookstore in town, you'll have to come and see our rare books, a few Lewis Carolls, H.G.Wells all sorts. A salamander an interesting choice of pet if I may say" He smiled softly.

“Ah, Joo? She’s the best pet ever,” Delmy smiled back, though her mind was still stuck on the fact that he said he owned a bookstore. “I got her a few years ago; she likes crawling around on me usually, but with all this stuff in the way, I don’t want to risk losing her. But back to what you said before. You own a bookstore? That is so amazing! Books are like… they’re like… where would humanity be without books?”

She was rambling now, she knew, but reading and writing were her passions; she didn’t care much that she looked silly.

“I’ve got to go around town tomorrow, dropping off flyers and such,” Delmy let him know. “I’ll stop by when I’m done. Knowing me, I’ll end up visiting you all the time.” She paused as if realizing how suggestive that last statement sounded.

“For the books, I mean,” she added quickly, her face flushing. “I’ll be there all the time for the books, not you. I mean, not that you’re not worth visiting; you’re very nice looking. I mean, nice; you’re nice. I’m just going to shut up now.” Embarrassed, she turned away from him and busied herself with unpacking a box.

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“Well I would love to have your company tomorrow. I can make you a drink and I'll show you around the collection. Herman Hesse said, "Without words, without writing and without books there would be no history, there could be no concept of humanity." Which is completely true; without books we would be nowhere. I'll be off now, but until tomorrow, Delarosa." He gave a warm smile and exited her room. Delmy was about to breathe easy again when he poked his head back into the room. "By the way, you're very nice looking, too." He gave a quick, playful wink and left the room, and Delmy flopped on the bed, face flush.

“Oh God, that was so embarrassing,” She muttered as soon as she was sure Arturo was out of earshot. She was not some simpering twelve year old, and she wasn't sure why she suddenly started rambling like that. “It had to be the car ride; the air was stale and now I’m probably suffering from fatigue. Yep, fatigue.”

She rolled onto her stomach and sighed. She had a lot to do over the next couple of days. She was lucky in that she wouldn’t have to do too much until her parents opened officially the following Monday, but she still would have to adjust to living in a new town. She was grateful also that Arturo had come introduce himself. She wasn’t sure when she would have time to meet people, and as a relatively private person, she only ever had a few friends anyway. She wasn’t lying when she said that she would be visiting the bookshop often; she had a feeling that it would become one of her rare escapes from her home life. She closed her eyes, exhausted, as the weight of the day pressed in on her.

“Della! Callow! We’ve got some dinner; come down to the kitchen!” Della flinched awake at the sound of her fathers voice booming up the through the house. She padded down to the kitchen to find the rest of her family standing around the island in the middle of the kitchen, doling out a meal of Indian food.

“I heard we had a guest,” Her mother casually said. Delmy glanced at Callow who was suddenly very interested in his rice. “I hope you were polite.”

“Of course I was,” Delmy replied. “Why wouldn’t I be? He dropped some things off for us to have and helped with the boxes.”

“Oh, well, that's great Honey,” Delmy’s father gave her a soft smile. “Everything all set in your room?”

“Yeah; I really like it, thanks,” Delmy smiled back. “Joo seems to like it, too. She was trying to scale the side of the tank and explore.”

“Since we’re going to be staying here for a while, can I get a cat?” Callow interrupted, much to Della’s amusement. He had been asking for a cat for years now, but because they moved around so much, her parents were reluctant to get a pet that would get stress from so much travel.

“We’ll think about it,” their mother said, waving her hand dismissively. “We’ll be extra busy for the next month or so; I don’t know if we’ll have time for a cat.” Their father nodded in agreement.

Delmy really wanted to shake her mom by her shoulders and maybe instill some sense in her. She loved her parents, she really did; but sometimes, it seemed like their mom cared more about their business than them. Everything was about the business; all their so-called “free time” was used promoting their business. Julinha Skjavro was relentless when it came to getting their name out there – part of the reason they were so successful in the first place – but Delmy missed the days when she could just relax for an hour without having to think about how her actions would affect the business. She’d like to be able to share with her parents the fact that she really loved books and writing and wanted to work with kids.

“Delmy, did you hear me?” Delmy snapped out of her thoughts to see her father giving her a confused look. “I was saying that after delivering the flyers, you’re free for the day. We don't have much left to do at the office and it’s nothing you’re mom and I can’t take care of ourselves. You can go make some friends or something.”

“Uh, yeah, sure,” Delmy replied trying to keep the smile off of her face. What her parents didn’t know was that she had already made a friend. And she was more than happy to forget about her troubles for a day and visit him.

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Delmy dropped Callow off at the high school just as she'd been told, and got started on delivering the flyers. She went to all of the businesses, introducing herself and her family and informing them about Platinum Event Planning.

Her mother and father had started it when she was still a baby, as a result of her mother losing her job at the travel agency she worked at. Her father, head of a catering business in their town, had become the head of the catering department, and her mother took over most everything else. They worked on weddings, birthday parties, business conferences, festivals, anything really.

Put some PEP in your step!

The company's slogan seemed like a joke as Delmy left her parents in their office, having finished the deliveries. Just as her father promised, she was free for the rest of the afternoon and could do as she pleased. And she knew exactly where she was headed: Arturo's bookshop.

She had purposely skipped the business when she was out before because she wanted to spend as much time there as she possibly could. It was a very fascinating place, and as soon as she opened the door, she knew she'd found a place she could spend a lot of her time.

"Arturo? It's me, Delmy! I saved the best place for last. How are you today?"

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{I like the first one the best!}

Delmy looked around in awe. The place was beautiful and cozy and oh so perfect. "I would love a tour," she said. "This place is all yours? I'm amazed. Your little sister and her class must've had so much fun here." She remembered when she was a little girl and could keep her nose out of a book. She loved reading stories about kids going on adventures and solving mysteries and doing magic. There was always some new world to discover, some new path to go down... It was wonderful.

She followed Arturo around as he shelved the books. "I think your parents must be so proud of you, running this place on your own. I mean, look at it!" She waved her arms around. "How'd you even get into this anyway? It's like my dream job. Much better than working at the office." She slapped a hand over mouth, shocked that she spoke one of her most secret thoughts out loud.

"I... I didn't mean that. You didn't hear that. Sorry." much like she had th eday before, she busied herself with browsing the shelf nearest her, and finding a book.

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{That's a great title. I'd read it if it were real :)}
“Ah, I would love to help out where I can, if I have the time,” Delmy told him. She looked at the book he had handed her.

“You wrote this?” She whispered, awed. In her hands was a copy of a book Arturo had written. It was an idea from his own mind, a world created by him, with characters birthed from his imagination. She looked up at him, smiling wide. “You’re an author. That’s really cool, Arturo. I must admit. I’m jealous. I… never mind, it’s not its not important. Thank you for the book; I’ll tell you what I think after I’m done.” It looked to be about wolves. She was a big fan of animals, canines especially, so she curious to see what this was about. Wolves, mysterious and often feared creatures, had always held her attention longer than books about vampires or other mystical creatures. She supposed it was because she envied their wild and proud nature.

She tucked the book under her arm. “That’s cool about your great granddad. I guess you could say books are in your blood then.” She gave a short laugh. “By the way, your ratatouille was really good. We didn’t eat it for dinner, but I got hungry in the middle of the night and ate some. My compliments to the chef.”

She glanced at her watch. It was only just after lunch, and at the mention of food, she realized just how hungry she was. “Um, if you have time, do you think you’d want to get lunch? I mean, I understand if you have to watch the shop. I don’t really know anyone yet, and your kinda my only friend, so I was just wondering. I’m rambling again aren’t I? Sorry.”

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Delmy was excited at the prospect of lunch with her new friend. She supposed there was no harm in letting him know her true aspirations; it was the first step in becoming closer friends, right? She was already feeling comfortable with him. And he was an author, maybe he he had some tips or something. She smiled at him and followed him out the store.

"How about that little burger place near the library," she suggested. "I stopped there earlier and there was a mushroom bacon burger calling my name." She let out a little laugh and flipped a couple of pages in the book. She spied a passage about werewolves and grinned.

"How did you decide to do a book about werewolves?" She asked, but then held out a hand indicating he shouldn't reply. "No, wait, don't tell me. I want to find out tomorrow. I'll have to read quickly, I guess."

They soon approached the little restaurant and entered, taking a seat near the window. "You really don't have to buy me lunch," she told him. "You've already given me a book, and helped me move boxes. Let me foot the bill and we'll call it even."

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Delmy took a moment to think about Arturo's request, and began speaking.

"Well, I'm originally from Pennsylvania. But I we moved around alot because of my parents business. They pretty much travel wherever the party is," she let out a little laugh. "My dad says we'll be here for a while, but I'm kinda just used to it by now. Uh, I'm 20 years old, and I love meat. Bacon is my favorite." She paused as their ordered food was delivered to the table. She held up the burger and gave it a little shake. "See?"

"I'm really close with Callow; I don't know what I would do without him. He takes after my mom, though, and I take after my dad. Both my parents want me to take over the business," here she lowered her voice and looked away, an embarrassed blush on her cheeks. "I want to be a childrens book writer. They don't know, and I feel like a jerk and a coward for not being able to tell them. Sorry, this is probably not what you meant when you wanted to know more about me."

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Delmy sighed and leaned back in her seat. "I appreciate the offer, Arturo, I really do," she said. "But I don't know if I can do that just yet. That's a big step, and I don't know if any of my writing is good enough yet." She quietly ate the rest of her her food, thoughts swirling inside of her head.

Arturo, she decided, was a very kindhearted individual. They had only just met, and already she was telling him things like her true life aspirations, and her fears of disappointing her parents. He had the kind of aura that just drew you in, and really, he was the only person to even have asked what she wanted. Callow knew of course, but he was her brother and they talked about everything. He actually wanted to take over from their parents, and that made them prouder than anything. She hated to see the look on their faces if she ever told them that she didn't.

Arturo seemed to understand, but she was still afraid. She was the type to have only a few close friends, and she had to admit to herself that she was afraid at the speed with which she was starting to get close to him. It had everything to do with the fact that she was used to being put in a box, and for once, someone was treating her like she was her own person. It was scary and exciting and altogether crazy.

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Delmy could feel Arturo's gaze on her and willed herself not to look up. Alas, curiosity one out, and she glanced up, only to meet his eyes and look right back down again. Awkward. She stifled a nervous giggle.

"So," he said after a moment. "I'll come and pick you up at your house to show you around the landmarks mentioned in the book. And of course answer any burning questions you may have. Who knows, our chance meeting may have sparked some inspiration for another book. I'm still finishing the fifth one, but there's always room for the sixth." He chuckled, and Delmy nearly choked on her drink. She swallowed slowly and gave him an incredulous look.

"You'd really put me in your book?" She asked slowly, as if she had misunderstood his previous statement. "I- I haven't even read the first book yet! Oh no, Arturo, I can't let you put me in. I'm still a newcomer, it wouldn't be right." She pulled out her wallet to pay the bill for their meal.

"I hope Callow can find his way home," she said, in a lame attempt to change the subject. "Kid is so directionally challenged, I wonder how he manages to find his head on his shoulders. I bet your little sister is adorable. Is she the only sibling you have?"

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