Negotiating With Mary: A Bookstore Romance by GL Robinson

Author:GL Robinson [Robinson, GL]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-05-29T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Nine

When they got back to the shop, Mary said Benny might as well go home with his mother to save her another trip to pick him up. It would be quiet; no groups were meeting that day.

The first thing she did was to put the folded flag next to the display on the counter. She taped the three bullets on the back of the medal box, afraid of them going missing. She spent the rest of the time between the occasional customer packing up the few remaining Fall and Halloween items, and putting up the Christmas tree. She’d get it up today and put the lights on it tomorrow. She had the original bubble lights her father had bought in the 1950s. Customers had repeatedly tried to buy them, but she couldn’t bear to let them go.

The tree was also one her father had bought years before. It was one of the old-fashioned artificial ones with color-coded wire branches you had to slot into the correct slits in the trunk. It was an exasperating business, especially as she’d been lazy when she put it away and hadn’t bundled the same color-coded branches together. She kept having to take out ones she’d already put in. She cursed herself for her stupidity and vowed, as she always did, to buy a new self-lit modern one with sections that opened like an umbrella in the after-Christmas sales. But in her heart, she knew she wouldn’t. She had too many memories of putting up this old tree with her father.

It was about six by the time she’d finished. The clocks had gone back the Sunday before, and it was completely dark outside. The streets were deserted. She was just about to lock the shop door when two burly men dressed all in black barged in. Ski masks covered all but their eyes.

She was so shocked, she said stupidly, “I’m sorry, we’re closed for the day!”

“Yeah, closed for the day and closed for permanent if you know what’s good for you,” growled one of them, giving her a push that sent her flying backwards into the tree she’d just finished erecting. One of the wire branches jabbed her sharply in the ribs and she lost her balance and fell to the floor. The tree fell over onto the counter, knocking off Mr. Prud’homme’s memorial display. The easels and flag fell to the floor, followed by the medal box that landed with a crack. Luckily, none of it hit her as she lay there, mentally preparing herself for assault or even rape.

She saw the other man’s boots kick at the various boxes of ornaments that still lay on the floor. There was a sound of glass breaking inside, but he made no attempt to destroy anything else, and neither of them approached her.

“Okay, that’s enough,” said the one who had pushed her, “He said don’t do no damage.” Then he spoke to her. “This is a warning. There’s important people don’t want this shop here no more.

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