“Oh, yes. Thank you. I’d like to take this one as well.”
While Liddy rang up the purchase, she chatted with the woman, who related she and her family had just moved to a new development outside Mattapoisett. Her husband was a lawyer, and they had three children. Liddy mentioned the story hour on Saturday and the book clubs, and the woman took information on both.
“I’ll try to be back on Saturday with my five-year-old,” she told Liddy when another customer arrived to pay for their selections. “And I’ll think about the mystery book club.”
“You have a mystery book club?” An older gentleman handed Liddy his book for her to ring up. “My wife and I used to be in a book club, but after she passed away, I stopped going. Maybe it’s time for me to join a new one.”
“We’d love to have you.” Liddy handed him the flyer Grace had made, and he looked it over.
“Wednesday night.” He nodded. “I can do Wednesday night at seven.” He smiled at Liddy. “I’ll see you at the first meeting.”
“I’ll be sure to watch for you,” she told him. “My name’s Liddy, by the way.”
“Augustus, but call me Gus. It’s nice to make your acquaintance,” he replied. “I just moved into the retirement village out on Route Six. I’ll see if any of my new neighbors would like to accompany me.”
“All will be welcome,” Liddy assured him.
He picked up his package and had turned to leave when the iPad caught his eye. “What have we here?”
Liddy explained how she had signed up to follow Rosalita’s journey.
“Oh, that’s wonderful. In my past life, I taught marine biology at Holy Cross,” he told her. “I’m delighted to see such interest in the great whites.”
Another customer, overhearing, engaged Gus in conversation, and eventually ended up purchasing two books about sharks Gus recommended.
“You’re hired,” Liddy called to Gus as he left the shop, and he laughed.
“Wow, he was interesting,” Liddy’s next customer commented. “I could have listened to him all morning.”
“Maybe sometime we could ask him to lead a discussion on sharks,” Liddy thought aloud.
“I’d be there,” the customer said. “And I think I’ll look into the mystery book club. Thanks. I love your shop, and I’m so glad it’s here. My husband is the new tennis coach at Alden Academy, so we’ve only been here since June. It was disappointing to find the nearest bookstore was a half hour away. Not that it’s so far, but there’s something nice about walking to your local shop, then maybe taking your book to the coffee shop across the street.” She added, “It would be even nicer if there was a park close by where you could sit and read outside in good weather.”
“There is a park about four blocks north of here, but I do have plans for a patio out back with maybe a few small tables next spring.” Liddy hadn’t had such plans until just now. “You’d have to bring your own coffee, though.”
“I would love that.” The woman brightened. “And I’ll bring my son to the story hour next Saturday.”
“Please do.”
Liddy leaned on the counter and rested her back for a moment. It had been an interesting morning. She’d received good feedback from her customers and a few ideas on how to make a visit to the shop even more enjoyable. As the day progressed, she found her patrons loved watching Rosalita’s progress, so she decided to leave the iPad on the counter every day.
Around four, some kids from the local high school began to filter in. There were two girls, who looked about sixteen, who both wore their white-blonde hair in high ponytails and were dressed almost identically, and a tall, gangly, dark-haired boy carrying a backpack, whom Liddy judged to be maybe a year or so older than the girls.
“Can I help you find something?” Liddy asked the girls as the boy walked past them. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him sit in one of the wingback chairs in the children’s section. He dropped his backpack at his feet, removed a book, and began to read.
“Do you have the new book by Janet Friesner?” one of the two asked.
“Maybe.” Liddy tried to think if she’d seen that author somewhere. “Is it a YA?”
“Young adult, yes.” The girl’s ponytail bobbed up and down.
“That section is down here.” Liddy led the way to the back of the store. The young adult section was right behind the children’s books. She checked the shelves. “F . . . yes, Friesner.” She pulled out a book. “The Hollow Hills High series?”
“Yes!” The girl reached for it eagerly. “I’ve been waiting for this book for months.”
“I apologize for not being more familiar with this series.” Liddy selected another book from the series and read from the back cover. “The continuing adventures of Angelet and Karyl.”
“It’s pronounced Carol, not Carl,” the girl told her. Her companion rolled her eyes.
“Oops. Sorry. As I said, not familiar with it, but I am now.” Liddy started back up the aisle. “Thanks for calling it to my attention.”
Halfway to the counter, she heard one of the girls say, “Dylan, why’s your hair wet?”
“I took a shower after gym class last period,” the boy who’d earlier seated himself replied without looking up.
The girls exchanged an amused look and followed Liddy to the cash register. They chipped in an equal amount to pay for the book.
“Sharing?” Liddy asked.
The girls nodded.
“Smart. That way you can buy twice as many books,” Liddy said.
One girl elbowed the other. “See? That’s what I said.”
They took their book and left the store. Minutes later, Maggie and Emma came in.
“We’ve come to whisk you away for dinner,” Emma told her. “It’s after five.”
“Is it?” Liddy glanced at her watch. “Damn, it is. I guess time really does fly when you’re having fun. Which I am. But I can’t leave the store unattended.”
“Grace is coming back in,” Maggie said. “She’ll be here any minute. I hope you don’t mind, but I told her to park in that space right behind the shop. I didn’t want to take the one space out front in case a customer needs it.”
“My customers thank you, and I don’t mind at all. I’ll go unlock the back door.” Liddy walked past them but returned in a moment. “I must be losing my mind. The door was already unlocked, but I swear I didn’t unlock it. I can’t imagine how that could have happened.”
“When was the last time you went out back?”
Liddy shook her head. “I haven’t gone out there in days.” She tried to remember who might have done so. “Maybe Tuck’s guys took some leftover drywall or something out back before they left the other day.”
“Has anything been missing?” Emma asked.
“Not that I can tell.” She looked around the shop. The books appeared to be in place, and she knew the money in the cash register was all there because she’d made a quick count earlier.
“Then maybe Grace opened it this morning for some reason. I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation. There she is now.” Maggie pointed to the back of the shop. “Ask her.”