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Morning came and I cooked up some smoky links and eggs. When I asked the kid’s how they wanted them, it turned out that they were only familiar with sunny side up and scrambled.

I was also a bit surprised Sara wasn’t asking for something made with just the egg white. It must have slipped pass her research, or it was another bit of healthy eating she decided to just skip.

They had omelets before, but it wasn’t something they thought of as a choice. Then again it wasn’t like I had ever had egg any different ways from them other then hard boiled.

Ami looked up all the ways to prepare eggs on the internet. Turns out there was also over easy where you flipped the egg and got the slimy stuff on the top to crisp up a little. Then varying levels of flipping it and then making the yolk less gooey.

Flipping them over without breaking the yolk was going to be a skill I was going to need to develop, but I did like the idea of slime free eggs. But the meal was missing anything in the way of baked goods, as planned. I just hoped the delivery boy would manage to show up before we were done eating.

Just then my phone buzzed for the front gate intercom to show me a nervous looking teenage boy sitting on an old fashioned looking girl’s style bike with wired baskets on the front and both side of the bike. Panniers, I think they’re called. Both of them had a white bag sitting in them, hopefully full of my muffins.

I grinned and pushed the button to open the gate without saying a word. I expected it might be spookier that way. Too bad they didn’t make a creaking noise as they opened, but they had been fixed up and oiled before I moved in.

Sara looked up as me with a questioning look as Ami got a look of realization on her face and a big grin. Sara asked me “Who is it Grandpa.” then began to look a bit more excited. “Is it mom and dad? I thought they were going to be a few more days?”

Shoot, didn’t mean to get her hopes up. “No, it’s just a deliver I was expecting. Muffins. Fresh baked.”

Ami began to fidget in her chair as Sara sighed. “Don’t we have enough snacks already? We can’t keep eating like this grandpa. You may be burning it all away magically, but we’ll get fat.”

The middle child finally couldn't hold herself back anymore and leaned over to grab her sister by the arm with both hands. “We got you a puppy!”

Sara looked at her sister in confusion as Aran began to become aware of the conversation. “What?”

The eldest turned to stare at me with her typical suspicious look. “You got a dog?”

I gave her a serious look. “Well, a pup might be an accurate description.” I jerked my head at the young man pulling up on his bike by the foot of the patio steps. Kid had figured out to come back to the kitchen, not the front door. He was also on time. “Ten points.”

Sara turned, saw the boy, turned back to give me a surprised look. Then glanced down at the pajamas she was still wearing from the night before. I pursed my lips. “You might have time to change before he leaves. If you hurry.”

She hissed. “You will pay for this old man.” Then took off with a leap that sent her chair sliding back into the far wall. Sliding into the hall, she kicked off the corner to take the stairs at what sounded like three steps at a time.

Ami skipped over to open the patio door, “Hi Neal. It’s Neal right? Sara will down in a minute, so don’t leave or she’ll cry because she missed you.”

The boy, Neal, looked a little overwhelmed, and either blushing or still warm from biking all the way out here… Nope, werewolf. The ride would have meant nothing. So the flush on his face was from the babbling eleven year old.

Then he saw me giving him a look from the other side of the breakfast bar, and went pale. “Ah, good morning Mr. Lathe. I have a delivery for you? It’s prepayed?”

I started to ask if he was asking me or telling me, but the kid was just doing his job, and being polite while doing it. So, “Five points.”

That go me a confused look from the delivery boy and my granddaughter. Meanwhile, Aran finally finished processing the earlier conversation and looked around. “Dog?”

I reached over to patted the kid on the head, safe behind the breakfast bar from any retaliatory kicking. “I was thinking about getting a couple of older dogs that were already used to each other from the pound, but not until things settle down.”

Aran considered that, then nodded after a moment. “Okay.”

Then I looked over at the wolf boy. “Pass over the muffins and then let Ami show you around the house, this is you last delivery for the morning, right?”

He looked around in a panic. “Ah, yeah. But you don’t need to go to the trouble, I can just go.”

I shook my head. “No way. Your mom would kill you if passed up the chance to tell her all about the place, I send Sara to find you when she’s ready.”

He squirmed a bit but let Ami drag him along behind her. “We can go look at the ballroom first, it’s up in the attic but the house is so big the ceiling is only at an angle near the edges, and there are some doors up there even I haven’t opened yet, and...”

Then they got out of ear shot and I arranged the muffins out on a platter. The six sad looking bran ones in the center where Sara couldn’t miss them.

I managed to butter and down two Apples and introduced Aran to honey butter on what I guessed was a banana one. I tasted one of the crumbs left over from slicing off the top. Yep, banana. It looked like our local baker whipped up a few more batches between the night before and the morning.

All that in addition to my original order. I would have to do something nice for Neal’s mom. Flowers maybe? I not sure if that would be appropriate for a married woman, but if their was some kind of baker themed arrangement… then again I hadn’t gotten flowers for Adora yet. Which might be too soon to do yet...

My musing were finally interrupted by the arrival of two squirmy teens looking at everything other then each other, as they were lead into the kitchen by a still babbling tween age girl. “...and then we’re back to the kitchen where, ooh, muffins. Look Sara he brought strawberry ones, and those...”

Ami held up a bran muffin, and held it out as she gave her sister a sad look. “He got the ones you like now too.”

Sara took the muffin, glanced over shyly at the delivery boy, and murmured in a soft voice. “...Thanks.”

The boy gave me a panicked look. I gave him a quick thumbs up. “Twenty points.”

Both teens gave me a confused look. Then the delivery boy seemed to try to find the right words to ask me something.

“Yes, it’s a Gatling gun. Working replica. I just like all the shiny gears. Please don’t tell you mother, I like to surprise people.” There lets see if you can keep a secret. A valuable skill if you want to date a girl from a clan of people who don’t like being called ninjas.

The kid shook his head a little, then turned to look over at the girls. “Ah, thanks for showing me around the house.” Then he focused in on Sara. “So I guess I’ll see around school?”

Sara’s face ran a gambit of expressions. Confused, shocked, pleased, disappointed, concerned. “Ah, I don’t really know what going with my family right now, but maybe.” She gave him a little smile. “If I do go to school here, it will be nice to see a familiar face.”

The kid’s smile lit up the room, I gave him a moment before I cleared my throat. Making him jump and begin scampering toward the door with a glace back my eldest granddaughter.

I began to follow him, trying to beat him to the door. “Hold up son, I tip.”

He hesitated as I dug out a fiver. No clue if that was a fair tip. “You talked to a girl, your next quest is getting her to give you her phone number. No fair getting it from the store’s phone, you got to get her to give it to you.” then I cracked the door open to return him to the wild.

Bewildered, confused, and no clue what the hell had just happened to him. You know, like every teenage boy dealing with teenage girls.