Onikuma Boyfriend: Victor Part One (special preview)

“The town is much bigger than it used to be,” my dad says to me as I load my bags into the house. “Not to your mother’s standards, of course, but there is a lot more to it than when you were a kid.” He grunts as he sits down. His arm is in a sling while his leg is in a massive cast. He sets his crutches aside then looks out the window. “It’s still a drive, of course.”

“Of course.” I wipe my brow then sit down at the table with him. “Anything interesting?”

“Well, for the most part, I still have to order from online,” he chuckles. “But there is a couple of good restaurants. There’s a shoe store.”

I laugh.

“Hey, that’s a big deal around here!” He grins. “Oh, something you’ll like, there’s the bookstore. Old Man Victor runs it, he serves coffee from time to time, has reading hours, does a lot for the kids here too. He’s got a whole section just for the young folk.”

I arch my brow and laugh. “Young folk, dad?”

“Hey, to me, you’re still that little girl that got lost in the woods.” He smiles at me. “But it’s a cool shop. Old Man Victor is an interesting guy too. He’s always looking for ideas for the place too, I bet he’d love to pick your big brain.”

“Oh sure, my party planning skills down here are going to get me famous,” I scoff. Back home, I had always thrown Mom parties for when her new book was released. Her friends liked my work, so they started hiring me out. It became a small business for me where I planned parties for bored, rich women in the neighborhood. I made good money, built up a nice savings account, but I hated it. Dealing with those women was enough to drive any well meaning person to the brink of becoming a super villain. It was part of why I moved back in with my dad, I was sick of it. Even though I had moved away, I was still getting calls and emails from these women.

“No, I just mean you’re smart. You know ways to entertain and dress things up so people can have fun. Knowing how to do that takes brains. Not just anybody can do that.” My dad winks at me.

“Yeah sure,” I chuckle.

After all the unpacking, I get settled in to my new surroundings. Everything is familiar, but nature has a way of growing to becoming something new. So even if I had grown up in this place for a big chunk of my childhood, there is this strange newness to it.

After a while, I decide it is best to get used to the town again. The drive there is about forty-five minutes, give or take whatever moose or bison decides to take up the road. Town has grown a bit, there are new buildings, a brand new storage shed for all the emergency vehicles and snow plows. There is even a new parking lot so people will use the tiny streets, but this requires some walking. 

I come upon the bookstore, which had once been an empty building where the window had been covered by old newspapers. The window is pristine with fine painting on it with the shop’s name: “Bear Pages & More.” I think the name is cute. My mom always said that a writer hates nothing more than a ‘bare page’.

The bells on the door chime as I walk inside. The place has a fireplace glow to it, warm, soft, and comfortable. The old wood floors creak as I walk upon them. The wall by the door is a built into the wall shelf where there are recommended books from patrons. I am going over them until I see one of my mom’s old books. I sigh and walk away, going towards a reading nook where there is a big cozy armchair with stacks of books on either side. 

“Good afternoon,” a man comes out from a door behind a shelf. “I thought I heard the door chimes.” He is carrying a tray of cookies. He has long silver and brown hair that hangs in more waves than I could ever dream of having. He sets the tray down on the front counter then puts on a pair of thick glasses. “Was just getting everything ready for the after school crowd,” he chuckles.

“Don’t worry about me, I just wanted to have a look around. My dad said I would enjoy this place,” I say with a smile. The man is quite handsome, exactly my type. He’s tall and wiry, wearing a shirt where the sleeves are too short for him. 

“You must be Mako’s girl then,” he chuckles. “He was telling me you were moving back into these parts.” He grins at me then shakes his head. “How is Mako doing after his little uhm...mishap? I brought him some books after the incident. His ego seemed more bruised than his broken leg.” he laughs.