// 😆🤣

+ took a good whisky from the cupboard and placed it on the table with four glasses. He was a little nervous. Buffy's relative made him nervous. But he also was nervous because Buffy seemed to have rushed into some trouble, and this made him worry.

+ But please, call me Victor!" In his head, he added, 'We're practically family.', but he didn't want to strain the other's nerves too much. "Get on your way here! I'm here waiting for you." Victor said, and the call ended. He quickly put away the empty box of new books, +

+ and said she had to take care of something urgently... it was a matter of life and death, so she said. And then she was gone." The other's question was surprisingly respectful. Victor nodded. "Yes, of course you're welcome in my store... all three of you! +

+ And if he was her decision (and if he would know Victor better, he wouldn't think him a bad decision maybe), then so be it. But that was beside the point now. Buffy seemed to be in trouble. "It was three days ago. She was still here with me, got a message, +

He heard the concern in the other's voice. "With all due respect, sir, but our disagreements are pointless. Acceptance is what's needed here. But more on that later." Victor felt the other should simply respect Buffy's decisions. She was a grown woman, and it was her life. +

// We definitily do!

+ She said she had an important case she needed to take care of." Patiently, yet with a strange feeling in his stomach, Victor waited for the answer.

+ Would he want another conversation like the other months ago? "What are your intentions with her? She should be associating with someone not dead." But no. He said Buffy was in trouble. In trouble? "Oh, good evening, sir! What do you mean by trouble? I spoke to her just a few days ago. +

+ He was just putting the last few books on the shelf when he heard the phone ring. He went to his desk and picked up the phone. "Sharpe's Night Bookstore, how might I help you?" And there was a voice he knew. It was Ciro... Buffy's relative. +

+ people tended to stay at home and cozily read books instead of going to parties like in the summer. That was good. The best sales during these months. With all the years Victor had run the store, he knew that. And so he'd ordered a whole batch of new books. +

It was a cold, rainy night, and accordingly quiet. No customers were really venturing into the bookstore. So Victor used the peace and quiet to stock new books on the shelves. He'd received a large box full of new books. A few new mysteries. In the colder months, +

// You do how you can, love! 😘❤️

"Damn.."

"Hell beetles?!"

// 🥺