Sunday. Dan had absolutely nothing planned for the day except to finish some commission work for an online client. This kind of thing paid well so he put his best into it. He wasn’t one to judge if a client wanted to be drawn as a neon green wolf with a massive whale dong. Especially if they were paying what he was making on this.

  As he was finishing the shading, Dan walked over to the coffee table and picked up the photo from the previous night. He brought it back over and used some tacky to attach it to the wall beside his desk. Why was he doing this to himself? Then again, why didn’t he stop thinking of her? He had a feeling it was left over baggage from Bethella creeping up or something.

  But as he worked, Dan continued to think about the girl. He’d intended for last night to be the end of this. He’d said goodbye in a way he thought sounded final. Not a “have a good life”, but still. Yet here he was, shading a giant whale dick and thinking about a goblin girl kissing him. He shook his head and got back to work.

  After he’d sent a message and proof off to the client, Dan checked his phone. Mostly messages in a new group chat he was included in, about the previous night. Shelly giving him shit for goblin kissing. She would, the shrew. Rob mentioning something about gaming that night if anyone was interested. Henry begging off to spend time with his husband. Danielle asking if it was a “real game” or one of Rob’s “imaginary dice games”.

  Last night he’d decided he wanted to be more social with these people. He couldn’t just keep living in fear in his apartment. Well, texting was going to be a part of that.

  

  Dan: You guys are just jealous that I have prospects and it's none of you.

  He smiled and renamed the chat in his phone to “The Saturday Night Thing”. Another thought struck him.

  

  Dan: Does anyone have plans for lunch today?

  Shelly: Sorry. Art show downtown. You’re welcome to come if you promise not to embarrass me with your Hillbilly Tennessee ways.

  Danielle: Spending this afternoon with mother while she remembers me.

  Rob: Setting something up at the game shop, PER MY LAST EMAIL. Invitation is still open, though.

  Danielle’s reply made him feel awful. He had no idea her mother was still alive and in that state. He needed to get to know these people better. They were, so far, the nicest folks he’d met in Natchez. And he WOULD get to know them.

  For now, though, Dan was nervous about going out alone. He knew it was a hold over from his old life. But, he got dressed, slapped his shoes on, and decided to find lunch. He was tired of being afraid.

  Mitzi had woken up in the girls bedroom at “Goblin House”, as they called it, in the weirdest mood she could remember. She’d tried reading while waiting for her turn in the shower, but she couldn’t concentrate at all. That made her mad. She loved Terry Pratchett. She kept seeing that face. The guy. Dan. He really had been very nice to her after everything that happened.

  Mitzi shook her head to clear it. That kiss had been a dumb accident. That was all. She just needed to forget it. And she would! Right after she thought about it for a while. Maybe the newness would wear off.

  But, she’d never been kissed. Goblins didn’t really kiss. She knew there were some that did. Some more often than others. Goblins weren’t often the romantic types though, anyway. She was an oddball for that. Her and her books. Particularly those romance books she’d devoured a year ago. The kisses on the cheek for Short Stack were work. This had been different. Like the ones in her books. It had been soft. And warm. And he’d. . .

  She sat up realizing Dan had actually kissed her back. Like, he hadn’t just sat there. He’d kissed her. She’d been so embarrassed she hadn’t thought about it. What the in the nine hells did that mean?! Nothing, she reminded herself. Of course he had. A girl had kissed him. What else was he going to do? Even if it WAS a goblin girl. Right? Besides, it’s not like he’d be back after his friends had probably given him a hard time. And losing fifty bucks. That didn’t stop her from thinking about it. She thought about it so much that she almost missed her turn in the shower.

  At work, Mitzi and the rest of the staff prepared for the day. It was Sunday so they were open from 11 to 8. She had free time that night. Now that the starvation times were over, she didn’t have to stress. She didn’t have to worry about whether to feed herself or whether to feed Bandy. Bandy had won that internal argument a lot. She realized that life had, despite whatever the hell the previous night had been, become so much better than it had been before. And she could READ! She was so excited she had trouble concentrating on marrying the ketchups.

  By the time they were done and the doors were open, there were plenty of customers. The post-church crowd. It wasn’t as crazy as the previous night, but there were more than enough people. Runt had warned everyone to remember this was a very different clientèle. Calm and respectful were the words of the day. The trebuchets were put away until Monday.

  Even with things being more subdued, Mitzi and Bandy kept their sections seen to and full. Even if she did prefer working in the back, Mitzi was more that happy to work for the tips. More tips meant more books to buy. It meant not having to trade. She could keep them. It also meant she could splurge on snacks. Peanut butter candy bars danced through her head and she was happy.

  And then, there he was. Dan. He was here. In her section. Alone. She had a stack of dishes on her head and was walking to the back, but when she spotted him, he was already watching her. Maybe it was because she was going to be his server. She wasn’t sure though. She pointed at her eyes with two fingers and then at him. She repeated the action several times as a warning. He smiled and waved.

  She tried to stay calm. He was back. Oh gods. What if he was a creep? What if he was stalking her? As soon as she dropped off the dishes, she checked the sharpness of her claws. She’d never stopped filing and sharpening them. Life saving habits were habits you didn’t break. Even outside of the dungeon. There had been a couple of times someone had gotten handsy at the tavern. She hadn’t let it happen again. She was satisfied she could handle any given situation, but she honestly had trouble believing he was there to do her harm. She headed back out with a menu to face this guy. She wished she wasn’t so nervous.

  Dan was already starting to regret this, but he just wanted to see her again. He must look like a creep. Maybe he should go? No, he decided. He was here. If worse came to worse he could excuse himself, leave a tip, and then never come back. She’d given him the warning eye thing from the movies. He’d waved trying to put her at ease. He wasn’t sure that had worked at all.

  He checked his phone. Oh. NOW Rob was interested in lunch. He shot off a quick message telling him he’d missed his chance for the day. Rob texted back to watch out for sexy goblins, which made Dan sweat. When he looked up, she was walking toward him. He wished words like “beautiful” and “stunning” wouldn’t leap into his head so quickly.

  “I’m going to ask you,” Mitzi said as she reached his table and held out a menu, “to please not order the Short Stack today. I don’t think I could survive the shame in front of the church crowd.”

  He smiled at that. He hadn’t even considered it.

  “I won’t. I promise.” He said.

  “Ok then.” She nodded. “Can I get you a drink while you look at the menu?”

  “Coke.” He smiled again. Something he’d noticed the previous night came back to him. He thought he’d been mistaken or maybe she had gum. He’d already linked the smell to her in his mind, this just furthered it. She smelled like spearmint.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “Ok.” Mitzi said. “Before I go, you’re not stalking me, are you? PLEASE say you’re not stalking me. You seemed really nice last night and I don’t want to have to gut you like a fish and answer a lot of questions for people.”

  Dan swallowed hard as his eyes went wide.

  “No! GOD no. I am so sorry if I gave you that impression. I can go if I’m making you uncomfortable.” Dan said as he made to get up. She sighed, seemingly in relief. She motioned for him to sit.

  “No. That’s ok. I think you just answered that question for me. Thank you. I’ll be back in a minute.” With that, Mitzi turned and walked to the kitchen. Dan wasn’t sure what had decided her. Maybe it was his offer to leave. At least he didn’t have to go.

  He looked around. He was the only person at a table by himself. THIS had become the story of his adult life. Lone tables in restaurants when he didn’t have the energy to cook, and he couldn’t stand to be in his apartment for a minute longer. He’d had to get away from his family after everything that had happened. The decision weighed on him.

  He noticed a few people glancing at him. He did not attend church. He had turned down all offers of attendance. He’d had his reasons. It was like how he’d turned down most everything social after the first few events. Natchez was a bizarre mix of his mother, and a new way of thinking that he’d embraced as he’d gotten older.

  Dan was searching for a life. The previous night felt like the first time he might have found a part of what he was searching for. He hoped.

  He’d learned the term found family a few years ago. He realized that was what he was doing. Finding one. And then this girl showed up in the same night. He realized he had been emotionally open when it happened. He had been outside of his comfort zone again. He was grasping at moments, hoping to hang on to them. Hoping for real connections. Not connections he’d had no choice or say in.

  That made him think of Bethella. He supposed nothing was real when you were immortal. Everything was fleeting. He’d never felt so much less than human as when he’d been with her. Like an animal. He felt his heart sink.

  The glass of Coke being sat on the table snapped him out of his thoughts and he looked up. Mitzi was standing there, hands on her hips, head tilted.

  “You ok, pink-boy?” She asked.

  Dan snorted.

  “I have a nickname? I’m honored.” He smiled at that.

  “Did you even look at the menu?” Mitzi asked. Dan realized he was still smiling. He hoped he didn’t look like a maniac.

  “No. But everyone tells me the po’boys are amazing.”

  She pulled out her note pad and started scribbling.

  “What kind? Or do you want me to pick?” She arched an eyebrow. Now that was a thought.

  “What WOULD you pick?”

  She thought about it.

  “There’s this one with roast beef and au jus. I could practically drink the au jus. It’s Lenny’s favorite.” She said, looking wistful. Something struck him.

  “And Lenny is. . .” He began.

  “The head chef. He’s the little cartoon in the corner of the menu. Weird jaw, naval oranges for eyes, super sweet, kinda insane.” She said, looking at him curiously.

  “OH.” Dan said, trying not to let his relief show. “I’ll try it. And before you go, can I talk to you about something?”

  Mitzi looked around.

  “No. Not now. I’m sorry.” She sounded sincere. “It’s our first Sunday. I’ll tell you what though. If you promise not to be an ax murderer, I’ll talk to you after work tonight. We close at eight. I’ll be done here by about eight thirty. If you’re a good boy I’ll let you walk me home.”

  That was far more than he’d hoped for today.

  “Absolutely. Don’t let me slow you down. Thank you, Mitzi.” He liked saying her name. It was hard to say without smiling.

  She smiled, bobbed a little curtsy which was something they were supposed to do, apparently, and then ran off with his order.

  “He’s here.” Mitzi said, trying to not hyperventilate as she handed the order over to Lenny. Bandy was just leaning there gossiping when she came in.

  “Who’s here?” Bandy asked. Mitzi stared at her sister like she’d lost her mind.

  “WHO DO YOU THINK?!?”

  It took entirely too long for Bandy to put the pieces together, and Mitzi watched them all click into place bit by bit.

  “Noooo. Seriously? Kissy-boy? He came back?” Bandy said, once she’d done the mental gymnastics.

  “I wish you wouldn’t call him that, Bandy. Geez.” She said as she paced, waiting for her next order to come up. He was here. He was still considerate. That was good, right?

  “Well what should I call him?”

  “His name’s Dan.”

  Bandy blinked.

  “You know his name?” Bandy asked in surprise.

  Mitzi stopped pacing and looked up.

  “He told me last night. Shut up. I already see some comment forming in your head so just shut up.” Mitzi said, crossing her arms.

  Bandy walked up to her and gave her a very concerned look. She was all business suddenly.

  “Do we need to throw him out?” She asked. Mitzi looked up in surprise.

  “No! He’s ordered! And he just came to talk. To me. To talk to me. I told him I’m too busy.”

  “Good!” Bandy smiled. “You are, and we don’t know this guy, right?”

  “He’s going to walk me home tonight. I can talk to him then.”

  “Wait, what?”

  Mitzi suddenly felt unsure about her decision. If BANDY thought it might be dumb. . .

  “I told him he can walk me home if he needed to talk so bad.” She put her hands on her hips again, and tried to rebuild her confidence, but there wasn’t much to work with there at that moment. “If I’m not home by ten-thirty, send the boys or something. But I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

  “Do you want me to go with you?” Bandy asked, taking Mitzi’s hand. Mitzi had to smile. She DID love her sister.

  “No. It’s fine. I’ll be fine. He doesn’t look like anyone that would have given us a problem in the dungeon. I’ll be fine.”

  “Ok.” Bandy said, giving her sister a side eye. “If you’re sure.”

  “Absolutely.” She said. A chorus of crows should have flown in the window and started screaming “LIAR!!” at her.

  

  Dan managed to act like a normal customer for the rest of his stay. He also managed not to get in Mitzi’s way with everyone else around him. The sandwich was, quite frankly, amazing. He didn’t know anything about Lenny, but the man was a master at meat and bread, which was saying a lot. He left a generous tip. It wasn’t a fifty, but it would do.

  Dan spent the rest of the day trying to keep his mind off that night. He visited Rob for a bit at the gaming shop. Rob invited him to game with them, but he told him he actually had plans. Rob gave him a look, and Dan decided he’d tell him at work tomorrow. Maybe Rob wouldn’t freak out at the office. Maybe he wouldn’t freak out at all. He wasn’t sure. Rob was usually the most accepting guy in the world.

  He got home and worked on side projects for the rest of the day. He ate a small dinner. He’d considered painting but he didn’t think that would be a good idea tonight. He felt jittery. He couldn’t trust his hands to do what he wanted, and he had enough concerns about the quality of his work.

  He was afraid he knew why he was this nervous. This was the first girl he’d talked to in ages. Since Bethella. Maybe that’s why he kept thinking about her. Or maybe he was developing a weird goblin thing. Was it weird?

  Goblin, to Dan, had always been the monsters that came out of the woods into your backyard and messed up your garbage. Sometimes they’d kill your house pets for food. They were a nuisance. Or he’d thought that for a long time. He’d heard about goblins’ rights rallies, small as they were, and had started to realize maybe the little guys had been forced into these lives.

  Now he was wondering if everything he’d seen about them was situational. Look at Runt and Company. Even with them not being able to own property they’d built something amazing by the river. He hadn’t seen a single one of them acting like an animal.

  Jesus.

  He’d be thinking like his grandpa about minorities next. He decided to throw everything he knew about goblins out the window. Today would be his first day knowing anything about them. He realized he really didn’t have that much to forget.

  It was eight forty-five and Dan was sitting on a bench outside of Runt’s. There was a huge van parked out front. A large, muscular, bald, black man came out and opened the back and side doors of it and stood there waiting. He looked at Dan.

  “Can I help you? We’re closed for the night, but if you need help. . .”

  “Mr. Short?” Dan asked.

  “That’s me.” The man said.

  “Nice to meet you, sir. I’m Dan Turberville. I do advertising for Deeper South Magazine.”

  Mr. Short smiled.

  “Little late for a meeting, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, sir.” Dan said, smiling back. “I’m just here waiting on someone. I’ll stay out of your way and I’ll be gone soon enough.”

  Mr. Short walked over and seemed to study Dan.

  “You waiting for one of the staff?” He asked. Dan just nodded.

  “Mitzi.” The man said. Not a question.

  “Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.” Dan said, suddenly feeling very embarrassed.

  “Dan, was it?” Dan nodded. “Dan, I just do the signing for Runt. It’s his joint. Mitzi’s a grown-ass woman. I don’t care what she does as long as it doesn’t hurt me and mine or Runt and his. Just be nice and remember these guys are people.”

  “I plan on it, sir.” The man nodded.

  Just then, the doors opened and a tidal wave of green skin came out, talking and laughing. They all loaded into the van. Mitzi came out, looked around, saw him, and walked over and just looked at him. Dan tried not to sweat. After the last of the goblins was loaded, King Runt, in a sturdy 3D printed crown, locked the doors. He looked at Mitzi.

  “You coming, kid?” He looked at Dan with a suspicious expression.

  “I’m fine, your highness. He’s nothing I can’t handle if things turn south.” She said. Dan swallowed.

  Runt shrugged, then looked hard at Dan.

  “That’s my niece. You don’t want twenty goblins huntin’ you down.”

  With that, he jumped into the passenger seat of the van, and they took off. Mitzi watched the van leave and Dan watched Mitzi. It was suddenly very still, and very quiet, and the sky barely held light on the far side of the river.

  “Hi.” Dan said to her. She relaxed.

  “Hi. You wanted to talk? We’ve got a thirty-five minute walk to my house. Let’s talk.”