“Oh, look. That’s Graham from The Bookshelf going in to work.” Christian uses his index finger to point out the window while he scratches his belly with his other hand. Happy to not watch him scratch, I willingly follow his gesture.
Sure enough, Graham’s unlocking the bookstore. “I guess this city never shuts down.”
“I guess not.” Christian jerks his head to the exit as his feet move toward it. “We might as well head over too and start our first day.”
“Can you hear yourself talking right now?” I stumble to my feet, hating to leave the warm haze from the fire. “You are obsessed with money.” I wave my hand over his body. “You haven’t even showered for the day, nor have I.”
“I’m not going to shower without hot water. Plus, nobody cares how I’m dressed.” His face is stern, focused, telling me there’s no use in protesting. Christian is that kind of guy who can never sit still, especially if he’s anxious about something. It’s his turn to lead, and out the door we go. I’m grateful the sun is starting to peek over the mountain range, but still unimpressed by the frosty air that nips at my extremities. I tug on my coat, both concealing my warmth and my nightshirt.
“Morning, Graham!” Christian calls out across the road as I struggle to keep pace with Christian’s perky steps. We race right to Graham like we’re stalkers. “Lovely day, isn’t it?”
Graham’s gaze finds us, and he immediately responds to Christian’s sarcasm with a chuckle. “Right. So nice out.”
“I think the whole town is out of power.” I steel my face to the ground. Christian is so embarrassing sometimes as he states the most obvious things.
“We lost power at our house a few hours ago, but the store has a generator.” Graham turns his key, releasing the door. He yanks it open with one smooth motion and jerks his head in an inviting nod. “Come on in. I’ll see if I can make some coffee.”
Graham switches the closed sign to open and heads toward the back, disappearing through a door that appears to lead to another staircase. After a few moments, the lights flicker on, and the fan of the furnace hums, bringing a promise of incomingwarmth. I almost cheer. It’s funny how you never think of electricity until you’ve lost it, but I couldn’t be happier to see artificial light.
When Graham reappears, he has a full smile on his face and heads behind the coffee bar, flicking on the drip coffeepot and espresso machine. “There’s a tiny apartment upstairs that I used to live in. Before I lived there, the old lady who owned this store before me lived in it, and she had to be on oxygen when she was older. They had that generator installed for emergencies, but it comes in handy.”
“I bet.” Christian takes long strides toward the coffee bar and straddles a barstool like he already owns the place. His flashing dollar signs return to his pupils. “I love what you’ve done here. I can’t wait to see this place grow even more.”
“Yeah, like I said before, if it wasn’t for the fact my wife and I are expecting a baby, I’d keep plugging along. However, I learned the hard way with my daughter that I need to be home more, and running a bookstore is plenty enough on its own.” Graham casually takes his phone out of his pocket, and starts setting it on the counter, when his gaze flicks to it momentarily, and his eyebrows practically shoot to the ceiling. “Oh, my!”
“Everything okay?” Christian arches his chin, trying to peek at the phone in the most not-nonchalant manner.
“Ah, not sure.” Graham is rapidly texting, his eyes locked on his phone. “My wife’s water broke, but it’s too early for the baby.” His gaze cuts to Christian. “I’ve got to go.”
The front door jingles open, and a couple meanders in. “Guys, we’re closed,” Graham calls out while he digs in his pocket and pulls out a set of keys. He takes several steps toward the exit. “I need to leave.”
“Oh, I saw the lights on, and thought it was a place we could keep warm,” the man says while rubbing his bright pink hands together. “Our apartment is out of heat.”
“I was going to open.” Graham’s words rush faster as he continues to the front and switches the open sign back to closed. “But that was before I found out my wife is in labor, and now I need to go.”
“Oh, we’re sorry,” the woman says while the small smile she had been wearing noticeably plummets when she pivots to return outside.
I know how she feels.
The wind is howling, the snow is blowing, and I’m getting the shivers just thinking about going outside. I don’t want to go back to our freezing hotel room. “Ah, maybe you don’t have to leave.” My voice cracks and I clear my throat, tossing a look at Graham. “I can make them a coffee and give them a place to sit until they warm up a little.”
“I don’t know about that.” Graham’s expression pulls into a wince. “It seems like a big ask to leave you guys here. I really think we need to just lock up.”
“Well,” Christian speaks matter-of-factly, “Today is our day to transition everything, so really the coffee bar is mine, right? It really makes sense for us to stay. We can just tell everyone the bookstore is closed but we are here.”
Graham’s wince deepens as his gaze bounces from me to Christian and back to the couple. The couple’s smiles droop even more as they back away from the counter. “It’s just coffee, and we can handle it,” I say. “Christian and I both know our way around a coffee bar, and we have nothing else to do.”
Graham’s silent but he turns to Christian, who doesn’t disappoint, piping up again, “It’ll give me a chance to get to know the customers.”
Graham’s gaze bounces from the couple to Christian, and then his phone rings. He yanks it out of his pocket. “Hello?” His inflections are strained as he lowers his voice, but it doesn’t conceal the conversation that his wife’s waiting for him.Christian steps forward, waving Graham out the door. “Just go. You have my number. Call when you know she’s safe. I’ll help these people.” Graham takes a moment to look around the shop again, before giving a deep shrug, and eventually nods an agreement with his phone still glued to his ear.
I turn on my heel and head to the coffee bar. “What can I start for you?” I ask the couple.
They step forward. The guy, who is dressed in very nice business attire, says, “Just hot coffee would be great.”
“I can handle that.” I easily find the cups and pivot to fill them, but the coffeepot that Graham had switched on seems to have been backed up. There’s hot water in the pot, but no coffee. I open the back of the machine and check for grounds. They are there. I flip the switch off and then on, but it only makes a dying noise. Pursing my lips, I study it. I can’t see any switches I’m missing.
Maybe Graham has it on a rinse cycle?
