“Is that Chase Ruthen?” A voice came from behind me and I turned around to see Miss Pearly, one of the shop workers.
“Pearly.” I reached out for a hug and her short arms came barely around my waist.
“You look so grown, young man.” She pulled back, taking a full look at me. Pearly was already in her forties when I came here all the time, and now her age barely showed, except for the full head of white hair.
“You look stunning, Pearly.” I laughed as she looked behind me and then back up at me, with a raised eyebrow.
“Who is this?” She pushed past me to Erica, who was admiring a set of books on a table, completely oblivious to the interaction happening next to her.
“Hi.” Erica gleamed at Pearly and then down at the cat who rubbed against her leg. “Oh! Who are you?”
Erica picked up the feline, embracing it in her arms.
“That’s Mr. Eliot.” Pearly reached to pet the cat that was in Erica’s arms. A soft purr could be heard from him as he nudged his head against Erica’s chest. “I’m Pearly.”
“It’s nice to meet you. I love the shop.”
“We love this guy right here.” Pearly pointed back to me. “He used to come here for years. I’m glad to see his smiling face again.”
“Chase is just showing me around Savannah. I’ve never been here before.”
“Where are you from, love?” I walked away from where they continued their conversation, watching as Erica became close to Mr. Eliot and walked around with Pearly as she showed her every nook and cranny that I was going to. I made my way over to the tea room and ordered two green teas, light sugar, and sat down at one of the small tables, pulling out my phone and thumbing through the last document I had been working on.
This was the perfect place to be able to talk to Erica about this book, in a place where I felt safe to express myself.
“There you are.” Erica found me at the small table, but now she was cat and Pearly free. She pulled out the small chair and sat in front of me, her eyes still roaming the room. I pulled up the last poem I had written for Erica and reread it over and over again, looking up to finally see her staring at me, lost in the moment.
“Can I read you something?” I asked her, nerves shooting straight through my body that I was about to read Erica a piece of me I had kept hidden from her.
It was the last piece of us that I was ready to share.
Erica
“Sure.” I leaned in closer to Chase, my full attention on him. I sat there watching him for a few minutes as he read on his phone. He was intent on it, so I didn’t want to bother him. I sipped my tea and took in the atmosphere of the book store.
It was a quaint little shop that oozed with history, love, and acceptance of all ages. Kids and adults filtered in and out of the store, but the thing that caught me off guard most was that it was actually a home. This store was a house renovated to be a bookstore, so when it had the homey feeling, it was true to it. Pearly had been a doll showing me around and Mr. Eliot was Prince Charming in disguise, helping me with my anxiety of being in a new place.
This was Chase’s place and even though it felt like I was intruding, I was actually doing the opposite. He was inviting me into his world of words. It was something I hadn’t told him yet, that I had read a lot of his work growing up, following him on Live Journal. I hadn’t asked him if he was still writing. I guess I just assumed that if it was something he loved, he was still doing it.
When he asked if he could read me something, I was hoping deep in my heart that it was something of his.
“It’s a poem.” He cleared his throat and his whole face turned red. I placed my hand on top of his, silently encouraging him to continue with whatever he wanted to read to me. “About us.”
He flipped my hand over and intertwined our fingers together. I watched his shoulders rise then fall and his mouth open to start.
“In a world where I wasn’t alone
I felt lost
Except with you
My heart knew then
As it does now
That you are all I will ever want
That one decision
