Ball Play by Isobel Starling

Author:Isobel Starling [Starling, Isobel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Decent Fellows Press
Published: 2021-11-05T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 7

LEANDER

My doorbell chimed while I was in my bedroom changing my clothes. I knew who was at my door and the arrival was something of a relief.

“COMING,” I called as I jogged down the stairs. I opened the front door and gave my friend and boss Gretchen Baum a hug. Gretchen was in her sixties and had long multi-colored hair tied in a loose chignon. She wore stylish vibrant Swedish ‘Lagen-Look’ layered clothing and it always delighted me how she reveled in growing old disgracefully.

“Thank god you’re here! Come in, come in,” I beckoned.

“Hey sweetie. Take me straight to the patient.” She said her Brooklyn accent strong.

“Sorry I’m so late,” Gretchen offered as I led her through to the dining room. “I would have come sooner but the alarm went off at the store—it was a false alarm, but I had to wait around for the security company to come and deal with it.”

She put her purse on the table beside my ruined illustrated copy of Fellowship of the Ring.

“Oh boy! This poor baby really took a direct hit!” She said on seeing my book.

“I feel so awful. I should have been more careful,” I admitted. Gretchen gave me a steely-eyed look over the rim of her glasses and did not disagree with me. It was the first time I’d taken responsibility for my part in this disaster. I’d been a complete monster and blamed Jake when the truth was we were both to blame.

At The Book Nook, we have a sign on the wall in the café area stating that customers can only read books and magazines that they’ve purchased. We’re a small bookstore, margins are tight, and spillages happen. We can’t afford the losses of soiled books and no one wants to buy a book that someone browsed while eating a sticky Danish pastry. Therefore, I should have known better. I should not have mixed Hobbitses and Preciouses with coffee!

Gretchen removed a sheet of the kitchen paper I’d used to blot the moisture from the pages. She turned the pages of the book um’ing and aah’ing as she inspected the damage.

“It looks like your quick thinking has made my job a little easier. I’ll have to take it away with me. I can use vinegar and water to remove the stain. Cleaning the pages will be a long job, though.”

“I’ll pay whatever you want.”

“No need for that. Let’s call it a labor of love. I know how scarce this edition is and the thought of leaving it stained is just unthinkable. Make me a peach cobbler some time and we’ll be quits.”

I knew Gretchen adored my Peach Cobbler recipe.“I’ll make you ten peach cobblers if you can save the book.”

“Deal!” I was so relieved. I’d never sell the book, but the thought of my edition being soiled forever never sat well with me. I was lucky to have such a good, talented friend.

We moved to the kitchen and I made green tea for both of us and opened a tin of iced Lebkuchen stars.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.