By the time I made my way back to the counter, the shop was normal again. The long row of bookshelves along the back, with the large center table filled with stacks of books.

“I love this layout,” I mumbled under my breath.

“That’s because it’s your world’s layout,” said the Cat. He jumped up on the counter. “How about something cool for the afternoon?”

The Cat rarely requested a change, so I paused while thinking about it. We had plenty of ice in the cooler. I turned around to look at the wall of teas and pulled down three different options. “Do you want fruity, citrus or minty?”

The Cat tilted his head. “Fruity.”

I put two back and pulled out a pitcher I hadn’t used before. I measured out the loose tea into a bag, then added hot water. Just around 4 cups would do it, and I set a timer. I had to think about how I was going to present this to the Cat. He couldn’t use a straw after all.

Once the timer went off, I filled the pitcher with ice and some cold water before taking out the tea bags. I sniffed it and was greeted with the scent of peach, plus some sort of berry. With a smile I headed to the kitchen. Inside the freezer was the real treat. I pulled out two packages of tapioca boba. Both went into the microwave, and once done I was back at the counter. The pitcher of tea was suspiciously ice cold, but I said nothing.

Instead, I pulled out a tall glass for me and a teacup for the Cat.

My boba went into my glass, followed by ice. For the Cat I added the ice first, then a bunch of the boba so it sat on top of the ice. Then I added the iced tea to both cups. The boba was already lightly sweetened, and the fruit infusion wasn’t bitter, so I didn’t need to add sugar. For me I pulled out a thicker than normal straw.

Then I moved the teacup in front of the Cat, careful not to wiggle it too much. “Here you go, boba tea.”

“I’ve seen you drink this before.” He sniffed it, then lapped at the tea.

“You can eat the black boba balls,” I added.

His tail twitched, but then one of them vanished from the teacup. It was then that I thought about the fact that it was probably about the size of his mouth. “It’s chewy,” he said.

My panic vanished, and curiosity followed it. How did he eat the boba?

“But tasty.”

I took a long sip of my tea, getting a few of the boba balls with my straw. At least Indigo was still sleeping upstairs, so I didn’t need to worry about her choking on boba.

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Once the Cat was done with his tea, he turned to look at me. “Ready?”

I nodded.

It didn’t take long for a new person to enter the store. It wasn’t John. “I think this is the right place,” said the guy. The blond haired, blue eyed, gorgeous man entered the shop with a box in his arms, plus a few envelopes on top. “This is MEOW, right?” He asked, pausing near the door.

“You found us, welcome! You must be new,” I replied.

He nodded, walking the rest of the way inside. “Yep, John got promoted, and I was assigned this route.”

“He mentioned something like that might happen. I’m Sable.”

He set down his package. “I’m Adam, it’s nice to meet you.” He glanced around the shop, catching sight of the sign warning people to not upset the cat. “He said there was an awesome cat here.”

The Cat stepped closer to him, sniffing. Adam reached out, and the Cat nudged his hand before purring. I immediately relaxed. Adam was what he said he was.

“I better get going,” he said with a smile. Then he headed out.

“He’s good folk,” said the Cat, as he approached the envelopes. “These are for you…”

My eyes were still on the door that had closed behind Adam. “What?”

“You got mail.”

I shifted the box and picked up the cards. “Birthday cards from my family, though they’re a little early…” There were three cards, or what I assumed were cards. One from Cyan, another from Umber, and the last from Cerulean, which was surprising. He often forgot birthdays if he was traveling. I hadn’t asked if he was home, but I bet he was, and helping with the construction for Umber’s house.

“Early?”

“Oh, yeah, a week early.” I chuckled. “Normally, my brothers are pretty late, but I think everyone’s at home right now. I bet one from Onyx will come soon. Plus, Mom said she’ll mail my present.” I put the cards together so I wouldn’t forget to bring them upstairs, then turned toward the box.

“So, what’s in the box?” I asked the Cat.

The Cat said nothing, so I grabbed a box cutter and opened it up. The Cat jumped inside before I could peek.

“Ah, just some supplies.” The Cat jumped out.

I looked inside to see some stacks of paper, and then the whole bottom was filled with more of the MP3 players and recorders for the dragons. “Oh, we’ll need to let them know they’re in.”

The Cat nodded.

I picked up the box and added it to the storeroom. “So, that wasn’t hard at all. Though we have a new delivery guy…”

The Cat didn’t look concerned. “They change every so often, but John lasted the longest. Hopefully, Adam will stick around.”

“Can they always find the shop?” I asked.

“The shop shows up at the same place for the deliveries, and we know when they are going to happen,” explained the Cat.

The Cat had been willing to answer my questions much more lately. I hoped nothing was up with him, but I was glad to be getting answers instead of only more questions. The conclave seemed to have done something to him, but I didn’t know what. “So, can we appear on other places on my world?”

“If needed.”

***

The dragons were the answer. All I needed was for Indigo to ask one of them about human birthdays. The timing of the arrival of the MP3 players was perfect. I just needed to be patient, and I would have my answer. Then, I could make my plan.