"Because I don't want to accidentally annihilate an entire package of taffy," River said. "But having the jar missing from its space on my desk is bothering me."
"Fair enough," Melanie said back. "What if you put the jar on your desk, but leave it empty?"
"The urge to open it or fill it will be too strong."
"It must be really hard for you to keep your space feng shui," Melanie laughed.
"It is. I don't know if you noticed, but I like having things arranged just so. The jewelry needs to catch the light, the chairs need to be properly aligned, and my taffy jar needs to stop driving me nuts. BRB." Melanie waited patiently for River to return, watching the madness in the main chat unfold until his icon popped up again. She clicked on it to find that he had been on a mission. "I found the caramels with the cream in the center! I thought I ran out of those."
"Are you going to put those in your candy jar?" Melanie teased.
"I don't know," River replied. "If I put them there, then I will be out of them. It's a hard decision."
"Life’s tough," Melanie typed. "But it's kind of a waste to just let them sit there, you know?"
"That's very true," River said. "I guess I'll just have to eat them anyway."
"You say that like that's a bad thing."
"I'll just make sure to brush my teeth extra well for a while," River responded. He was still typing, but what came next surprised Melanie. "It would be nice to share some of this candy with you. Instant internet communication is all well and good, but I'd prefer to speak to you in person. I like being able to hear people's voices because it gives you so much information that plain text can't. Expressions are important too."
"Are you asking me out?"
"Only if you would like to come by," River said. "We don't even really have to go anywhere. You can just stop by my house for a bite to eat and then go back to your business."
"I like that idea," Melanie said. Maybe she was throwing caution to the wind just a bit, but she really did like the idea of a home date, so to speak. "I think I'll take you up on that."
"I'm glad to hear it," River wrote back. "We can discuss a date and time a bit later; I have some things I need to do, but once I finish those, I'll tell you everything you need to know to meet me at my house."
"I'll look forward to that," Melanie typed, feeling a tingle of excitement go through her. It wasn't like she hadn't seen River face-to-face before, but something about meeting him at his house for what could probably be considered a date made her heart flutter. River and his friends were an animated bunch, and she found herself wanting to know more about them. She would wait patiently for River to give her the details, and she really would look forward to meeting him again.
Chapter 5
The day arrived when Melanie was to pay River a visit at his house. She kept the e-mail up on her phone while she drove, feeling paranoid that she would try to go into the wrong house. When she finally found River's house, she stared at it for a good few minutes as she mustered up the confidence to go up to it. Eventually, she got out of the car and knocked on the door. While waiting for River to answer, she found herself looking over the exterior and noticing there was a fairly large deck, perfect for lounging on when the weather was nice.
She wasn't able to stare around for much longer, as River opened the door. "Hello, Melanie. Welcome to my humble abode. Come on in." Melanie did so, and immediately she got a sense that the house was very clean and open. It wasn't the largest house she had ever seen, but everything seemed to be nicely tucked away, without a single stray pile of clutter in sight.
"You've got a very nice place," she said, looking around.
"Thank you," River said. "I do my best to keep things clean and presentable, but sometimes accidents happen."
"Isn't that the case with most people? Aside from the people who don't try, I mean," Melanie said.
"It might be," River said.
As Melanie followed River through his house, she noticed that dragon statues seemed to be perched on every shelf. Some were the typical western dragon on all fours, wings spread, but others looked more like sea serpents or eastern dragons. "What's with all the dragons?"
"Just another hobby of mine," River replied. "I've always liked dragons. They have an aura of power to them, but in the stories I read, they were also guardian spirits. Did you know that there are dragons of different elements? They don't all breathe fire, you know."
Melanie arched an eyebrow. "What stories are those? Most of the tales I heard as a kid had dragons as the bad guys. And you talk about dragons having different elements like that's a confirmed thing."
"My mother liked dragons, too. In the stories she told me, dragons existed to protect places and people." River exhaled heavily. "Does it need to be 'a confirmed thing' for it to be a possibility? Humor me a little."
"All right, I will," Melanie said. "What other types of dragons are there?"
"Among the western-type dragons, there are quite a few types, but the most common ones are fire dragons, water dragons, and lightning dragons. There are some earth dragons, too." Something seemed to shift in River's demeanor at the opportunity to discuss the types of dragons; a sort of excitement seemed to overtake him.
"What's the difference between the different types of dragons?" Melanie asked.
"Fire dragons are the ones you hear about the most. As you'd expect, they breathe fire, have tough scales, and have a fondness for shiny things. They're honorable, but they don't take any trash from anyone," River explained. "Lightning dragons live on mountaintops. They have spines on their back like lightning rods, and if they were to actually get struck by lightning, it would just charge them up. Naturally, they need to discharge the electricity they accumulate from going around, so they set up spots for unleashing their energy."
"What about earth and water dragons?"
"I'm getting there," River said. "Earth dragons have a natural talent for growing plants. They've helped many a farmer in times of need. It's hard to explain how exactly their powers work, only that they do."
"Dragon poop fertilizer?"
"That might be part of it, but really, come on..." River rolled his eyes but couldn't hold back a chuckle. "Last but not least, water dragons. They're amphibious, capable of living in or out of water. Some of them built entire cities underwater and just stayed there. It's possible that Atlantis and other underwater cities may have been inspired by water dragon cities."
"Okay, now you've got to be pulling my leg," Melanie said. "I don't think I've ever heard about dragons being responsible for Atlantis or anything like that."
River shrugged. "Believe what you want. For all your skepticism, I hear more accepting noises than flat-out 'no's."
"You think of such interesting things, so it's hard not to listen when you talk about them," Melanie said. "And you're so passionate about these unique ideas, too."
"I would hope that I am. Being passionate about ideas is what makes things happen in this world." River's gaze seemed to go distant for a moment, but just as soon as the change happened, it was gone. "Are you up for an early dinner? There's nothing quite like talking over a meal. I'd light candles, but it's a bit too bright out still."
"You want to give me a candlelit dinner? How romantic," Melanie said, grinning ear to ear. "What's on the menu?"
"Lightly breaded fish," River said, smiling back. "I can't remember what type it is exactly, but it's a white fish, I can tell you that much."
"Oh, come on." Melanie gave River a teasing nudge. "How do you buy fish and not remember what it is?"
"Fine, fine." River chuckled and gently nudged Melanie back. "It's catfish."
"You know, Riv, you're kind of a nerd," Melanie said through a giggle.
"Who are you calling a nerd? If your chat availability is any indication, you sure do spend an awful lot of time on the computer." River's smile remained steady.
"Touche. But it's okay. I think I can call you
my favorite nerd." Melanie felt her face go warm as she said that.
"That's a position I feel honored to occupy." River took a few steps towards the kitchen. "Care to follow me? You can be my sous chef, if you'd like."
"I'd be happy to help."
Making dinner was a surprisingly focused affair. River's command over his kitchen was almost mechanically precise; the way he asked Melanie to pass various ingredients reminded her of a surgeon asking for a scalpel. The preparations felt like they finished quickly and soon, dinner was on the table. With a satisfied sigh, River plopped down in his chair and gestured for Melanie to do the same. "Well? Let's enjoy the fruit of our labors."
"More like the fish of our labors," Melanie quipped, sitting down opposite River. As she did, she took a quick glance out a window. "It's still too bright for candles."
"That's a shame, isn't it?" River cut a piece of fish and took a taste. "Perfect. I couldn't have done it without your help."
"I'm glad I could actually help you. You're like a surgeon in the kitchen, I swear," Melanie said, taking a taste of her own fish. "Oh, wow, it is good."
"See? Worth the effort, wouldn't you say?" River grinned. "At least I'm not a sturgeon in the kitchen."
"Fish puns, oh no," Melanie said through a groan.
"You say it like you've never heard a bad pun before," River said. "We're fond of them in the Riverflow Club."
"Or are you pond of them?" Melanie replied, unable to keep a straight face.
River laughed at the silly pun. "Yes, we're very pond of puns in the Riverflow Club."
"You guys are fishy," Melanie said.
"At least we're not... well..." River paused, then chuckled loudly. "I'm afraid you've schooled me in this pun battle, Melanie."
"Couldn't resist a parting shot, could you?"
"What do you mean?"
"You know... fish... schooled..." Melanie made some vague gestures in an attempt to get her meaning across.
"Aha! There we go. I think the best puns are the ones you don't even notice yourself." River took another bite of his fish, but his eyes were on Melanie.
"You might even say that we're pun pals."
"Not while I'm drinking!" River coughed, then grinned back at Melanie. "Aren't you going to eat your dinner? It won't be as good if it's cold."
"Cold fish is only good when it's sushi," Melanie said through a sigh.
Dinner continued like this, with witty banter spaced between bites. Neither of them were aware for how long they were gabbing over empty plates until it became much darker in the house.
"What time is it?" River asked.
"Where'd the sun go?" Melanie asked in turn.
"I guess it got tired of listening to us talk and wandered off." River looked down at his plate. "Looks like the fish did too."
"Too bad for the sun, the fish, and the sunfish," Melanie said.
"Sunfish?" River shot Melanie a quizzical look. "Never mind. Did you have a good time?"
"Yes, definitely," Melanie said with no hesitation.
"I'm glad to hear that." For a moment, River's expression wrinkled guiltily, and there was an awkward pause where Melanie tried to figure out what was bothering him. “It must be very late… if you don’t feel like driving home, I’d be happy to let you stay here.”
Melanie felt her cheeks warm. He was already inviting her to stay with him, and while it felt nice that he was that comfortable with her, she wasn’t quite sure she wanted to impose on him like that just yet. “Thank you for the offer, but I think I should go home. I’m ready for the drive.”
River nodded. “If you say so. If you think you can make it, I’ll let you go.”
“It sounds so sad when you put it that way,” Melanie said.
"Don’t think about it that way. I have to let you go home sometime, don’t I? We all need to sleep sometime, and we have our own spaces for a reason." River scooted his chair back and stood up. "Don't worry about cleanup. I'll handle that. Do you mind if I walk you to your car?"
"I don't mind at all," Melanie said, doing the same.
The two were silent as River escorted Melanie to her car. "I had a wonderful time with you, too," he said, only breaking the silence once they were there. He seemed to be gazing after her, and Melanie had a feeling that he still had something left to say.
"I'm glad, but... why are you looking at me like that?" Melanie asked.
"Like what?"
"Are you not telling me something?"
"Well..." River hesitated before leaning forward. Melanie saw this coming from a mile away; when he kissed her, she didn't resist at all. When their lips parted, something seemed sad about River's smile. "Why should I have to tell you when I can show you?"
"I see," Melanie said, trying to catch her breath and suppress that remarkable fluttery feeling inside her. "You're a sweetheart, you know that?"
"You flatter me." River looked to Melanie's car. "Get some good sleep tonight. See you in the chatroom tomorrow?"
"Of course. Thank you, River."
Chapter 6
It was time for another meeting for the Riverflow Club. This one was held at the same botanical garden as before, which was a slight relief to Melanie. At least she wouldn't have to stress too much about making sure she was in the right place, even if the meeting was being held in a different section of the garden from before. When she arrived, Fay and Erin were already there, as was River; Erin was waiting patiently in her seat, while Fay was chatting River up about something. Melanie approached River and Fay first. "Hey, guys."
"Hi, Mel!" Fay smiled and waved. "Glad you could make it."
"I'm glad as well," River said with a small smile. "I've got an interesting topic prepared for today, so I hope your mind is open for business."
"As long as you don't blow my mind, I'm sure we'll be fine," Melanie said.
"We'll see about that," River said. "Why don't you have a seat?"
"All right. Guess I'll have to find out for myself what the topic is," Melanie said before taking a seat by Erin. "Hi, Erin."
"Hiya." Erin seemed to be in better spirits than the last time. "River looks like he's got something on his mind today."
"Who knows? He can be really mysterious sometimes." Melanie looked from Erin to River and then back.
"Kind of dreamy, isn't it?" Erin asked, a mischievous smile on her lips.
"Yeah, dreamy, let's go with that." Melanie chuckled nervously and wondered if River had told anyone else about the shared kiss.
Not long after, Marissa wandered up to the group. "I made it!" she said.
"You did indeed," River said. "Have a seat."
Shortly after, Leo entered the area. "Sorry I'm late!" he called out before taking a seat.
"You're right on time," River called back. Fay went to her seat and flashed Melanie a toothy grin. River took a seat in front of the group, his hands clasped. "Now that we're all here, who's ready to talk about something a little off the beaten path?" Various murmurs of assent came from the group, including Melanie's own agreement. "All right, here we go. When I say 'water,' what do you think of? We'll go from left to right. So... Fay, you're first."
"When you say water, I think fire," Fay said. "It's a natural opposite, right? It makes sense that they're connected."
"It does," River said. "Next, Leo?"
"I think about how I could really use a drink," Leo said. "Alcoholic content semi-optional."
River chuckled, "All right then. What about you, Marissa?"
"I think of a big blue lake, and how nice it would be to swim in it," Marissa said.
"That's a lovely image." River looked to the right. "Erin?"
"I think of watering cans. Also about how I could use a drink too."
"I guess we'll have to see about a bar meeting at some point," River mused aloud. "What about you, Melanie?"
"I... well..." Honestly, Melanie hadn't put much thought into the topic. "I think of a g
lass of water." Calls for alcohol aside, she thought that everyone's responses were better than hers.
"Your associations say a lot about you, but I'm not here to psychoanalyze," River said. "Instead, have any of you given any thought to the spiritual properties of water?"
"Not recently, no," Leo replied.
"Maybe," said Erin.
"Sure," Marissa said.
"Maybe?" Fay even tilted her head to indicate that she was trying to remember if she did.
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