The small dwelling behind the store was more of a converted storage room, but it at least had the basics: a small bed, a rickety table, and running water. Arturo inspected it with shining eyes as Mrs. Juana showed them the facilities.
"Well, it's nothing fancy, but at least you'll have a roof and can get cleaned up," the old woman commented with an indulgent smile. "I'd say a bath wouldn't hurt either of you."
Arnaud shifted a bit under his hood, but Arturo simply laughed and nodded enthusiastically.
"A real bath! How exciting!" he exclaimed, making Mrs. Juana chuckle.
"I see you've been living like a wild animal all this time, young man" she teased, ruffling his hair affectionately. "Very well, I'll show you how it's done."
She took the child's little hand and led him to the small latrine in the corner, where there was a basin and a pitcher.
"To bathe, you just fill the basin with water from the pitcher, see?" she patiently explained as she did so. "And then, you use this..."
She took a small bottle from a shelf and poured some of its contents into the water, creating lather. Arturo and Arnaud watched in wonder as the bubbles quickly multiplied.
"What is that magic thing, Mrs. Juana?" the 5-year-old asked, fascinated.
"This, child, is called shampoo. We use it to wash our hair and remove dirt," the woman laughed at his amazement. "And this other thing is soap, it's for cleaning the skin."
She handed him a cream-colored bar and Arnaud took it with reverence, as if it were an invaluable treasure. He had never had access to such luxuries in his life before.
"Now, have yourselves a good scrub while I get some clothes ready for you and your brother," Mrs. Juana urged them with an affectionate gesture.
Arturo nodded excitedly and turned towards Arnaud, who remained silent by the door.
"Did you see, Ar? We'll have a real bath, like people!" he exclaimed as he began removing his worn shirt.
The old woman let out a chuckle and headed for the exit, leaving them alone. The poor boys didn't know that they too were people.
"I'll leave you two to clean up in private. I'll be back in a bit with clean clothes. And you'd better use them, boys!" she mock-threatened before stepping out and closing the door.
Arturo wasted no time stripping down completely, laughing in delight at the soap bubbles floating in the basin. Arnaud watched him unmoving, so the child looked up at him.
"Aren't you going to bathe too, Ar?" he asked with a mischievous grin. "You don't want to stink all day, do you?"
A soft laugh came from the shadows of Arnaud's hood, and he finally moved to lower it. In the light of the magical bulb, his pale, sharp-featured face was revealed.
"Very well, little Ar. I will not deny you this simple pleasure," he responded in a deep, warm voice as he too began undressing.
Soon, both were immersed in the exciting task of personal hygiene. Arturo delighted in the fragrances of shampoo and soap, rubbing the lathery bars over his little body until he had worked up a plentiful lather. Ar watched him with amused eyes, trying to mimic the child's motions.
"Aye, Ar, not like that! Not like that!" Arturo would laugh whenever the vampire made a mistake. Then he would take his hands and show him how, guiding him with infinite patience.
By the time he had finished helping Ar rinse off, they were both soaked from head to toe and the floor was a small puddle of water and suds. But their faces shone with happiness, free for once of the grime and filth that had accompanied them for so long.
At that moment, the door opened again and Mrs. Juana entered carrying old but clean clothes. She came to an abrupt halt at the mess left in her absence, Arnaud's unsettling white eyes, pale features and big muscular body so unlike Arturo's, but let out an indulgent chuckle at the radiant expressions of her new tenants wrapped in towels.
"I see you boys enjoyed your bath, eh?" she teased.
"Yes, Mrs. Juana! It was the best ever!" Arturo responded with peals of laughter.
The woman shook her head and deposited the clothes on the table.
"Well, well, looks like you'll need to get dressed before starting your night duties," she said with a resigned air. "For now, it's best if you put on these clothes my grandson and late husband left behind."
Arnaud and Arturo got to their feet and went to examine the garments. The child took a shirt and a pair of shorts that seemed his size, while the vampire pulled out a thick work coverall along with a t-shirt and tried them on.
The late husband's clothing was a bit snug on Arnaud's bulkier frame, despite the man having been plump and stoutly built. But it would serve until they could get something more suitable.
"Alright then, get dressed quickly, work awaits," the old woman urged them while surveying the mess with a thoughtful air. "You'll start tonight, big fella. Don't worry, the work is simple."
Arnaud nodded silently and finished dressing. Once ready, he followed the old woman out of the small room, leaving Arturo to get dressed as well with a radiant smile.
The store's stockroom was a labyrinth of shelves and stacked boxes. Ar surveyed it all with keen eyes as Mrs. Juana explained his duties.
"A truck with the new order is coming tonight, so you'll need to unload it and put the merchandise on the empty shelves over on this side," she instructed, indicating the corresponding area. "Fortunately, the shipment is already organized by product type. You just have to follow the labels, see?"
Arnaud nodded, observing the empty spaces and memorizing the locations of each section.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
"Simple. I do it" he affirmed with a slight smile.
The old woman studied him with a critical eye and then shook her head.
"I should hope so, boy. Those boxes are mighty heavy," she warned.
♢♢♢♢
Night had fallen over the small town when the delivery truck arrived to unload the new order at Mrs. Juana's store. Arnaud waited in the stockroom, dressed in the slightly tight work coverall the old woman had procured for him. He no longer needed to shield himself from the sun.
Suddenly, the noise of an engine alerted him and his keen senses caught the scent of the exhaust. Instinctively, he went on guard, tensing his muscles and readying himself for action. He still wasn't used to modern life.
The back door opened and a burly man came in pushing a handcart laden with cardboard boxes. Seeing Arnaud waiting in the shadows, the driver came to an abrupt halt, swallowing hard.
"Uh...who are you?" he asked warily.
Before Arnaud could answer, Mrs. Juana appeared at his side, smiling kindly at the newcomer.
"Ah, Julio, good you're here. This is Arnaud, our new employee. He'll be unloading and organizing the order tonight," she explained with a gesture toward the tall young man.
Arnaud remained silent, regarding the driver with impassive eyes. Julio swallowed again and nodded stiffly.
"Sure, sure...Well, get to it then."
He stepped aside to let Arnaud pass and the latter moved towards the handcart without a word. Mrs. Juana indicated for him to start and he nodded. He picked up one of the boxes atop the cart and lifted it effortlessly...
...to Julio's muffled exclamation as he saw the strange employee heft the heavy box with one hand as if it weighed nothing. The old woman chuckled at his dumbfounded expression.
"What's the matter, Julio? Didn't you say you were big and strong?" she teased with a wink.
Arnaud seemed oblivious and simply began ferrying the weighty boxes into the stockroom with superhuman ease. One by one, he stacked them in a corner without so much as blinking.
"Mother of God!" Julio finally exclaimed once he regained his speech. "But what kind of monster is that guy? He's stronger than an ox!"
"He's not a monster, Julio. He's just a rough boy who needed a job," she reassured him. "And I'm glad I hired him judging by how efficient he is!"
Both watched in awe as Arnaud unloaded the merchandise in record time. When the last box was inside, the tall man with the cold gaze faced the old woman as if waiting for instructions. Juana was startled to see him suddenly so close and then cleared her throat, recomposing herself.
"Oh, yes, well done, boy. Now you have to organize all this on the empty shelves, following the labels as I explained to you," she reminded him.
Arnaud nodded silently and turned towards the sea of boxes, studying them with critical eyes. The strange marks on the sides were a complete mystery to him since he didn't read much even in his own language. But he didn't dare confess his ignorance in front of the old woman, so he simply took a random box and opened it.
Inside were cans of preserves like the ones he had stolen for Arturo, so he deduced that they should go in the food section. He hurriedly loaded all the boxes that seemed to contain cans, carrying them to the corresponding shelves and arranging them in the empty spaces. Julio and Mrs. Juana watched him with growing confusion.
"Uh... Are you sure that's where the sardine cans go?" Julio intervened after a while, seeing him place them next to the cookie and cereal section.
Arnaud stopped and studied the boxes again. Then he shook his head and decided to try another one.
"Wait! That doesn't go there!" Juana rushed to stop him when she saw him about to put tomato can boxes next to canned soups. "What are you doing?"
The vampire stood frozen, a box of cans in each hand. A wave of humiliation washed over him at being unable to perform such a simple task. Juana frowned, watching him with a stern expression.
"Can't you read the labels?" she finally inquired. "Is that it?"
A heavy silence fell over the cellar. Arnaud lowered his gaze, ashamed to openly confess his ignorance. It was then that a small voice was heard from the door:
"I can help Ar, Mrs. Juana!"
The three adults turned to see Arturo, who had just entered wearing his new clothes backwards, a radiant smile lighting up his face. The boy ran to hug Arnaud's legs, who wrapped an arm around him protectively.
"Ar doesn't know how to read yet, but I can teach him the letters slowly. We can do it together!" he exclaimed enthusiastically.
Juana and Julio exchanged perplexed looks at this sudden revelation. Finally, the old woman shook her head and sighed resignedly.
"Well, it seems we have a foreigner among us, I suppose Spanish isn't your language," she muttered, giving Arnaud a penetrating look. "Do you speak English? Well, little one, you'd better start giving him those lessons right now if we want to finish the work tonight."
Arturo nodded excitedly and ran to the boxes, picking one up to study it.
"Look, Ar, this says... How do you pronounce this letter?" He frowned, concentrating. "Ah, yes! Ce-re-a-ls! It says cereals!"
Arnaud watched him speak with such tender eyes that Mrs. Juana couldn't help but soften too. Resigned, she instructed Julio to go ahead with the payment while the vampire and the boy took care of the rest in their own way.
It was a long night of slow and painstaking learning. Arturo spelled out each word carefully, guiding Arnaud to place the boxes in the right places. Sometimes he made mistakes putting the letters together, causing them to redo their work from the beginning. But the boy was tireless and patient, and Arnaud a dedicated student, repeating the sounds over and over until he learned them.
Mrs. Juana and Julio watched the scene with a mix of tenderness and amusement, intervening occasionally to correct them or urge them on. In the end, after several hours of effort, the last boxes were properly placed on their respective shelves.
"We did it, Ar! We did it!" cheered Arturo, raising his arms in triumph.
Arnaud smiled faintly and ruffled his hair affectionately. The boy laughed, hugging him tightly.
"Well, at least now we know you'll be able to do it right next time," commented Juana, shaking her head. "Although we'll have to get you some classes, young man."
Arnaud nodded, accepting the reprimand humbly. Julio chuckled and approached the old woman, lowering his voice in a conspiratorial whisper.
"By the way, Mrs. Juana... That guy Riquelme sent a thug," he confided with a serious expression. "He says he wants his payment by the end of the month or there will be consequences. His messenger was more upset than usual."
Mrs. Juana visibly paled upon hearing those words. She looked around, making sure Arturo and Arnaud were distracted playing, and then faced Julio with a grave expression.
"Are you sure? Was that exactly what he said?" she inquired in a low and tense voice.
Julio nodded, shifting uncomfortably.
"Yes, something like that. You know how those guys are, Mrs. Juana. This month you've been delaying the protection payment a lot and they don't like to wait."
The old woman closed her eyes and exhaled a shaky sigh. Then she opened them again, watching Arnaud. The tall and muscular employee who had shown superhuman strength might be useful to her after all.
"Don't worry, Julio. I'll take care of the payment, I'm almost there, sales have been low," she murmured. "For now, just focus on keeping me informed."
She cast one last glance at the giant who was now lifting Arturo in his strong arms, making him laugh. Arnaud might not know how to read, but he was definitely strong enough to provide the protection she needed.
♢♢♢♢
Back in the small room and ready to sleep almost at sunrise, Arnaud wondered who this Riquelme person was and if his life here would be safe for Arturo.