Twisted Encounters: A Novel by Tara Bloom

Author:Tara Bloom [Bloom, Tara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-02-16T00:00:00+00:00

Two for One

Iwas at a local book store the other day to see if there were any movement in my books (none, they were fully stocked). I also wanted to see what customers were interested in reading these days. To avoid detection, I wore a disguise for the occasion. It wasn’t anything elaborate, just a non-descript cap, sunglasses, and a white T-shirt with the words “Don’t Bother Me!” in bold black letters.

At a rare sight, I saw someone skimming through one of my books. He was a young man in his mid-twenties. He wore tight jeans and a black T-shirt with the words “Who Cares?” in bold white letters. I thought that was pretty clever. I went up to him to make small talk. “Good book?” I asked. He didn’t look up. “Just browsing,” he muttered.

He placed my book back on the shelf and picked up another book by a competing author. I picked up one of my books with good reviews (two stars as opposed to one) and showed it to him.

“What do you think of this one?” I asked.

He glanced at it. “Nice cover.”

I placed it back on the shelf with the back facing out so my photo (about the author) was at eye level. I then took my cap and sunglasses off and waved my freshly washed hair around.

“It’s a bit hot in here,” I commented.

He looked passed my books and bent down to look at the very bottom of the shelf. An older lady came over and took the book I had intentionally placed with the back cover facing out. She flipped it over and placed it back into its proper spot. She said to the man looking at the bottom shelf, “Anything I can help you with?” He looked annoyed. “I already told you. Just browsing.”

I went over to the next aisle to scan for new releases that may cause heart burn for my publisher. She had been working hard to place my books with local book stores. To her dismay (as it happens more often than not), some obscure author would release a new book with a similar title and ends up outselling my entire collection in its first week.

The young man I saw earlier bumped into me as I came out of the aisle. “Do you know where the thriller section is?” he asked. “That’s not my genre,” I said. He walked passed me and continued looking around the bookstore like a lost puppy.

A few days later, I was at my local coffee shop and noticed the young man I’ve met at the bookstore. He was in line getting coffee. I waited behind him. He was texting on his phone, so I waited until he hit send. I then asked, “Did you ever happen to find your thriller?” He turned around and looked confused. “Sorry?”

“Don’t you remember me? We met at the book store the other day. You asked about thrillers.” I brushed my hair from my face to give him a better view.

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