Sam did not often have guests, much less planned ones. Usually the only people to turn up to his home were people who were given the wrong directions or people who didn't want anything good. Having an actual plan to see someone was a novelty indeed, something that was exciting while also being equally unnerving.
He had tidied his house the evening before, but still found himself moving things an inch this way or a touch that way well into the next day. Jigano was someone he wanted to impress, a potential actual friend. Sam wasn't sure if he would care too much about how neat his shelves were, but anything would help after their disaster of a first day together.
At the rise of the sun he had gotten up and waited for Jigano, not sure when he would appear. The minutes had shuffled on like hours. He had picked up a book and flicked through it to pretend to read it for an hour, then made some lunch.
Eventually, around mid-afternoon, he had decided he must have had the wrong day in mind, or possibly the much more likely chance that Jigano had simply decided he was not worth the trouble. This knowledge almost certain in his mind, he had set to work on a task. Setting and cutting leather for book covers, an easy thing he could do while letting his mind run with troubling thoughts.
He was deep in concentration, beating a pattern into the corner of the leather when the knock at the door startled him. Sam peered at the door suspiciously, unsure of whether it would be Jigano or not at this hour. He approached it slowly and opened it just a crack at first to look out, then wider when he saw who it was, a warm relief spreading through his veins.
"Oh! Jigano! I...I didn't think you were...well, I'm glad you're here now." Sam smiled and stepped back to welcome Jigano inside. "It's cold out there. Come in. I have a fire...and I can make some tea. D-do you like fruit teas? Or I have more herbal mixes...I make them myself. Some of them are better than others."
He had tidied his house the evening before, but still found himself moving things an inch this way or a touch that way well into the next day. Jigano was someone he wanted to impress, a potential actual friend. Sam wasn't sure if he would care too much about how neat his shelves were, but anything would help after their disaster of a first day together.
At the rise of the sun he had gotten up and waited for Jigano, not sure when he would appear. The minutes had shuffled on like hours. He had picked up a book and flicked through it to pretend to read it for an hour, then made some lunch.
Eventually, around mid-afternoon, he had decided he must have had the wrong day in mind, or possibly the much more likely chance that Jigano had simply decided he was not worth the trouble. This knowledge almost certain in his mind, he had set to work on a task. Setting and cutting leather for book covers, an easy thing he could do while letting his mind run with troubling thoughts.
He was deep in concentration, beating a pattern into the corner of the leather when the knock at the door startled him. Sam peered at the door suspiciously, unsure of whether it would be Jigano or not at this hour. He approached it slowly and opened it just a crack at first to look out, then wider when he saw who it was, a warm relief spreading through his veins.
"Oh! Jigano! I...I didn't think you were...well, I'm glad you're here now." Sam smiled and stepped back to welcome Jigano inside. "It's cold out there. Come in. I have a fire...and I can make some tea. D-do you like fruit teas? Or I have more herbal mixes...I make them myself. Some of them are better than others."
