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Kitty Meere was up to her eyeballs in books.

It was Saturday, which meant her shipment had come in. Boxes were strewn about the back room with tops torn open to reveal the contents inside. Kitty, young and vivacious, beamed at her new mystery novels. Everyone had been asking for them, and now that the shipment had come, regular customers would be pouring in to receive the latest publications from their favorite authors. Of course a few of the copies would be set aside for her to read on her breaks. It simply wouldn't do if she didn't know what to tell people if they asked for her opinion. But being well-read was hardly a duty so much as it was her calling.

Kitty adored books. She loved the worlds the stories could take her to. Being on Veratia, which from space looked nothing more than a dull, grey mass in the cosmos, was sometimes so stifling for the imagination. Not that she couldn't imagine all the crimes, seedy undergrounds, and unlikely characters peeking around every corner. But there was nothing green or natural about the place. Kitty sunk herself in pages for that kind of world to blossom around her.

And not only was the world so different than what she read about, but her life was certainly nothing like anything she wanted it to be. Kitty wanted dashing men to sweep her off her feet, for romance to blossom under a starry night sky. But all she could get were the bookish men who kept to themselves mostly, or the occasional awkward boyfriend. As for starry skies... Veratia provided a constant polluted, dull sheet above her head. No stars that she could see, though her stories always took place on those distant planets.

Kitty sighed. She had perched herself on a countertop, mug in hand as she sipped her hot peach tea. She would have to set up a display, which meant taking down some of the stuffed animals artists were trying to sell... though they warmed her heart, practicality was turning her in the direction of relocating them towards the cafe.

Ah, she thought. What a day, what a day. Mostly on her own, Kitty was quite used to this constant agenda, but just once she wished things would change... even if it was as simple as seeing a new face.

"Kitty!" a customer called out. To anyone who didn't know her, it would have sounded as if they were calling an actual cat out of the shadows. She appeared in the front of the store in just as silent and stealthy way regardless with her happy smile obliging them all.

"Here for your order?" she asked a few common faces. All said yes, and without a moment more dawdling, Kitty has disappeared back into her storage area.

She knew the orders by heart. Mrs. Sampson wanted the new novel by Gregory. Mr. Frederickson also wanted that same book along with Eliza Drummel's new mystery romance.
All the lusts played out in her mind, but just as her eyes met the open doorway, it all stopped.

There was a young man in the shop. A handsome young man... dressed to the nines, she thought, and touching every book like he was merely appreciating instead of actively looking for something. A browser, but a very mysterious one at that.

immediately Kitty's mind turned to the cafe. She would be sitting there on break when he would come over with a paperback-- no, a hardcover. An ancient classic, yes, and he would ask her about it. They would start off having an intellectual conversation, but it would soon turn personal as they discovered how many things they had in common... and who knew what would happen from there? Perhaps she would be so enchanting that he would return every day for lunch or for some made-up errand...

"Kitty!"
Her name called her out from her daydreaming. All the orders were in her arms, and without further ado, she reappeared out in public. But this time, she was not so lithe and silent as her namesake, but seemed rather confident.

"Here they are!" she said rather loudly, though that could have been dismissed by how old her awaiting audience was. Hearing problems, she rationalized.
"Everything just as you ordered, fresh from the presses and waiting for you..."

Kitty didn't miss a beat. She watched as he would go over to the books of poetry and scan them intently, and then in frustration look down another row. Poetry! Her very heart leapt at the idea of a handsome young man reading the works of the ages.
After everyone had been checked out and had their books safely in their bags, Kitty walked over to help this new young man.

But she didn't merely walk. It was a sort of meandering about the shop first; after all, if he found what he was looking for in moments, then she didn't want to seem like the kind of hovering shop owner who jumped down your throat. Kitty took her time, but as the minutes passed, she finally piped up in her sweetest voice,
"May I help you with something?"

Kitty was absolutely smitten. She was flustered and suddenly felt like she was filled with effervescence with every word. His accent, his sidelong glances... it all seemed so innocent and natural of him.
Though whether or not that was actually the case went right over her head.

"Oriole," she said, immediately reaching out to a smaller book of poetry that could fit in the palm of his hand. "That is, if she really likes the flowery, passionate sort of language in short bursts. Longer, more contemplative pieces... I would go to Lasalle."
Again she found with little effort a book that seemed to be a bit older than the others, but still in good shape. The slightly yellowed pages gave it a nice, used air without degrading the overall quality. Kitty wondered if people could be like that sometimes.

"But maybe she doesn't like poetry?" Kitty asked, looking straight at him in a moment of bravery.

Kitty couldn't remember having read anything or hearing anything about a professor retiring at the university, but trusted his word. She was the kind of person to simply trust strangers who had given her no reason to do otherwise. It was a rather innocent way of interpreting people, but Kitty hadn't been betrayed too terribly yet to change her ways.

"Then maybe an anthology of her favorite writers, maybe one from a certain time period?" Once more Kitty reached past him to pull out another volume from the shelf, but stopped herself halfway.
She looked to him with a questioning glance. "Though you probably know better than me which she would like... what did she specialize in?"

Kitty's heart felt like it was glowing with warmth in her chest, like a poker from the fire. That was something out of a book, right there, and he was even blushing. The compliment went right to her head, making her blush as well. But she could keep her cool. It was what good characters did, after all.

"Flirting doesn't get you a discount," she said, her voice laced with nervous laughter. "But I'm glad you found what you were looking for."
Kitty's eyes looked at him in their big, curious, laughing way. Yes, this young man could become a regular for sure and she wouldn't mind one bit.

Her heart was racing so much that the tremors reached her fingertips. Once she nearly dropped the book right off the counter as she rang it up, though laughed that off, too.
This man... who was he, moving along lines of conversation like eyes drifting over sentences?

"Don't be," she said. "It's like working at a grocery store and nibbling the fruit. Can't touch new products or else they're not new anymore... unless it's the used things. Now those I can get away with reading." Kitty sent him a wink and placed his purchase in a small bag. Her hands were still fluttering as she handed it over.