|
|
Post by Maggie Russell on Oct 13, 2009 23:17:30 GMT -5
Maggie scanned the crumpled list in front of her. It was her father's birthday next week and her mother had suggested patiently that she get something for him sooner rather than later. Her brothers had been given the same "suggestion" but they had decided to ignore it and stay at home to watch the football game on tv instead. When Maggie had told her mother that she was headed to the bookstore, Mrs. Russell had handed over a list of possible books and a credit card.
Sighing, Maggie elbowed the door open and headed for the nearest display table to check out those titles and see if any matched. The bookstore was nearly silent, as it was a Friday afternoon and most of the kids in Saint-James were probably at the mall or movies or someplace else considered the "proper" hangout for a teenage kid. Maggie shoved back some coppery brown tangles of hair as she peered curiously at the row of books before her.
|
|
|
|
Post by Jaye Wingard on Oct 13, 2009 23:34:05 GMT -5
Jaye heard the bell jingle above the door to the bookstore and looked up from the book she was currently reading. She leaned out from her stained (but extremely comfortable) brown recliner and peered around the bookmark and postcard cartel to see who had come in. She saw a girl of average height with slightly curly copper hair browsing one of the display tables by the door.
Jaye put a bookmark in the novel she was reading and slipped it down the side of the recliner as she got up and started to make her way over to the girl. It wasn't until she had reached the girl and the girl had looked at her that Jaye realized she was wearing Tybalt around her neck.
"Can I help you find something?" Jaye asked, hoping the girl either wouldn't notice the sleepy Tybalt or wouldn't end up being afraid of snakes.
|
|
|
|
Post by Maggie Russell on Oct 13, 2009 23:39:53 GMT -5
Maggie heard footsteps approaching her and looked up to find herself staring at a snake. Not that the young woman was an evily snake-looking person or anything, but literally a snake was staring unblinkingly back at Maggie. She studied it curiously for a moment before turning her focus to the owner who had asked her a question by this point. "I'm looking for a present for my dad" she explained, holding out the list of book titles. She almost added, "I can't find anything in here, maybe you should do some organizing," but didn't. Instead, she pinched her lips together and waited to see it any of the books sparked recognition in the young owner's eyes.
|
|
|
|
Post by Jaye Wingard on Oct 13, 2009 23:54:04 GMT -5
Jaye caught the girl's look at Tybalt and refrained from a sigh of relief when she didn't react. She took the outstretched list and scanned the handwritten titles and authors quickly:
"State of Fear" by Michael Crichton (Mystery)
...
Jaye knew by the first one that the girl should be in the Mystery section, which was in the back of the shop. The rest of the titles made Jaye quirk an eyebrow though, as they were by authors like Janet Evanovich--something Jaye wasn't so sure a father would enjoy.
"How does your dad feel about Global Warming?" Jaye asked the girl. "Does he believe in it or is he a skeptic, and would he want to read pages and pages about it complete with graphs and footnotes?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Maggie Russell on Oct 13, 2009 23:57:55 GMT -5
Global warming...Maggie didn't even know what she thought about it, let alone her dad. "Uh...I don't really know" she finally replied truthfully. "But I don't think that something with footnotes sounds like such a great present. It sounds like something for school or work." She looked around the practically empty shop. "Do you usually have more customers than this" she wanted to know, realizing a little too late that it was probably a rude way to phrase it.
|
|
|
|
Post by Jaye Wingard on Oct 14, 2009 0:07:51 GMT -5
Jaye laughed at the girl's last question. "Usually. It gets pretty busy more than you'd think, but on Friday afternoon I don't see too many crowds. Of course, it could be because I always have Tybalt with me on Fridays." Jaye stroked the Garter snake's head and felt his tongue gently touch her cheek.
"But you're right, that doesn't sound like a very good present. So we can cross off the first book on your list, because it's basically an argument against Global Warming with footnotes and graphs. The Mystery section is back here," Jaye started walking to the back of the shop, to one of the floor-to-ceiling book cases marked "Mystery".
"Now, the rest of the books on here I would consider a bit girly for a grown man. If he likes those kind of books that's fine, but I think I may have something he'll like better." She ran a hand along one of the shelves until she came to the "P" section and pulled out a book. "School Days" by Robert B. Parker.
"This has what every good Mystery needs: humor, humorous racial slurs, total badarse characters and lots of violence. I guarantee he'll get hooked on this series."
|
|
|
|
Post by Maggie Russell on Oct 14, 2009 0:13:26 GMT -5
Maggie was pleased to see that her comment didn't seriously offend the young woman...whose name Maggie didn't even know, come to think of it. Maggie reached out one hand to take the book that she was offering. "Thanks. Uh...what's your name, by the way? I'm Maggie." She flipped open the book to the first page and skimmed it. It did seem like something her father might enjoy. She closed it and turned it over to read about the author while waiting for a response to her question.
|
|
|
|
Post by Jaye Wingard on Oct 14, 2009 0:19:31 GMT -5
"Oh," Jaye replied, somewhat surprised, "I'm Jaye. Nice to meet you." She noticed Maggie was reading the About the Author section of the book and decided to give her some information about the series.
"He's written 36 books total in the series, but I don't see an end to them yet. The latest one was published last year. This one isn't the first one, but that one's out of stock at the moment and I've found that his later works are better anyway. This book got me hooked to the series and my dad, who doesn't normally like to read, was hooked by this one as well. Besides this series Parker has another one and a few stand-alone novels. So I don't think your dad will run out of reading material anytime soon." Jaye smiled. She loved her job.
|
|
|
|
Post by Maggie Russell on Oct 14, 2009 0:29:50 GMT -5
Maggie offered a half of a polite smile when Jaye introduced herself, but she was too caught up in reading the inside sleeve of the book to notice much else. The book was already drawing her in, even though she, much like Jaye's father it appeared, was not a big reader. It's not like she wouldn't like to read if she had the time, it's just that she didn't...have the time that is. She had just opened the book back up to a point in the middle to see if it still captured her interest when a voice sounded from her side.
"Oh, no, not that book kiddo. Your dad wouldn't like it."
Maggie almost dropped the book as her heart skipped a beat. Her uncle's favorite thing to do recently has been to suddenly materialize when she was least expecting it. Glancing sideways briefly, she pretended to continue to study the book cover to cover. "It looks great" she said firmly, both to Jaye and to her uncle.
"It looks awful" her uncle countered with a teasing grin. "Come on, Mags, think about your Dad for a minute, kid. This is more of a book for you than him."
Maggie rolled her eyes and opened her mouth but caught herself. Instead of rounding on her uncle like she would have preferred to, she gave Jaye a strained smile. "I'll take it. But before I pay, can I just sort of look around for awhile more?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Jaye Wingard on Oct 14, 2009 0:33:25 GMT -5
Jaye realized she was cocking an eyebrow at Maggie's sudden strange behavior and quickly corrected it before answering "Sure, take your time, I'll be reading behind the counter". Jaye walked back to the recliner and her book, also one from Parker's Spenser series, and wondered why Maggie had suddenly rolled her eyes, and what she had been about to say before asking to look around more. Jaye was a bit suspicious now, and decided to watch Maggie from behind her book. Her recliner was conveniently placed to do just that.
|
|
|
|
Post by Maggie Russell on Oct 14, 2009 0:45:13 GMT -5
Maggie gave a curt nod and tucked the book under one arm, slipping between two bookshelves on her way further from where Jaye was seated. Out of the corner of one eye, she saw her uncle trailing after her. Once they were a few paces from where they had started, Maggie hissed, "What's wrong with you? Why isn't this book good for Dad, huh?"
"I'm just teasing you Maggie, relax." Scott Russell ran a hand through his closely cropped brown hair and shook his head in amusement. "In truth, it looks pretty interesting. Maybe I'll borrow it when he's done."
"Oh yeah, because Dad won't notice when his birthday present goes missing..." Maggie noticed she was still possibly in Jaye's line of vision and edged closer to the far wall, raising an eyebrow sarcastically at her uncle.
|
|
|
|
Post by Jaye Wingard on Oct 14, 2009 0:49:09 GMT -5
Jaye watched Maggie as the girl stopped in the middle of one of the aisles and seemed to have a conversation with herself. She looked up once and Jaye quickly dropped her eyes to her book, and when Jaye looked back up Maggie was further away but still clearly in her line of sight. She watched the girl to see what else would happen, a vague notion starting in her mind.
|
|
|
|
Post by Maggie Russell on Oct 14, 2009 0:55:17 GMT -5
"You have to relax, Magster, I was just kidding. Why are you so tense? Usually you enjoy my visits."
Maggie ran a finger over the spines of a few books on the shelf directly in front of her and pushed a bunch of hair over one shoulder with the book she was still holding onto. "It's not that I'm not glad to see you Uncle Scott...it's just that...well now's not really the best time for me to be having a conversation with someone who's not alive. Other people tend to find that weird" she added, lacing these last few syllables with heavy sarcasm, still keeping her voice as low as possible.
|
|
|
|
Post by Jaye Wingard on Oct 14, 2009 0:59:30 GMT -5
While Jaye had been watching Maggie she was still able to read some, and she was surprised when she came to the end of the book. She smiled as this gave her an excuse to go near Maggie again and find out what was up. The girl didn't have any symptoms of a drug user but she was exhibiting odd behavior. And then there was the theory Jaye had...she closed the book with a decisive snap, stood up and walked briskly over to Maggie, who was still in the Mystery section. Jaye put back the book she had finished in its place and picked out another before she turned to address the girl.
"Can I help you find something else or are you good for now?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Maggie Russell on Oct 14, 2009 1:04:53 GMT -5
Maggie saw Jaye approaching and turned her back on her uncle, but not before giving him a stern, "get out of here" look. To her relief, he shimmered once and dissappeared. She had no doubt she would hear from him soon though. She laughed nervously when Jaye inquired about her status. "Uh, I think I'm all set. I'll get this book. How much is it?"
She pulled out her mother's credit card and followed Jaye back over to the cash register, all the while keeping her eyes peeled in case her uncle chose to return.
|
|
