I never trusted myself with books. Not that I didn't love them. I just reverenced them too much to handle them without guidance. I hungered for the day I could read the books my siblings read, like Homer, Hegel, C. S. Lewis, and Dickens. Yes, Dickens most of all. I had heard great things about David Copperfield, and my mother frequently compared me to Mr. Dick. She would say, “Mr. Dick, we need your advice,” and I offered it. She and my oldest sister would smile and wink at each other and say, “She'll love Dickens.”

This story is the result of a contest... here's the prompt, and then the story follows. Enjoy! 

You have two only two characters. They may be any one of the following: (1) lovers; (2) prospective lovers; (3) a parent and a child; (4) best friends; (5) complete strangers. If you need one or two minor characters to help out that's ok, but you have two major characters only.