Tilly looks uncertainly up at him.
As their eyes meet all he can think is,you’re leaving. He blinks quickly, a lump in his throat.
‘This is amazing, but I still don’t understand why you’ve done all of this. You don’t even work here.’
‘No,’ Tilly replies. ‘But that doesn’t mean this shop isn’t important to me. And I think I’m far from the only one who feels that way. And you need toseethat, Alfie. I know you feel like the shop closing is some sort of failure. Thatyou’rea failure.’
He winces at the accuracy of her words.
‘But you’re not,’ she says fiercely. ‘You have made an impact, Alfie Lane, even if you can’t always see it. But hopefully today, you will.’
He doesn’t know what to say to that. So instead he opens the door, letting his customers in one last time.
58
The bookshop is heaving. Blue and Prudence are handling payments, letting Alfie simply talk with customers. Tilly’s job is to keep the customers and staff topped up with mulled wine and mince pies. As she darts about the shop, she listens to the stories people share with Alfie. He has gone from bewildered to emotional, his eyes brimming as people come up to him, again and again, to shake his hand or embrace him tightly.
People tell Alfie about their favourite books he or his father recommended over the years. There’s much sniffing and handing round of tissues as parents and grandparents remember the first books they bought for their children and grandchildren. Local authors come in to thank Alfie for his support, and other shopkeepers on the road pop by, saying how sorry they are to see the bookshop close.
And people buy books. Stacks of them. Blue and Prudence can hardly keep up, and there is a queue out the door all day. Tilly’s family stop by, along with Rachel.
‘Thanks again for all your help with my book,’ Rachel says as Tilly passes mince pies around. ‘Your feedback has given me a whole new perspective and made me excited to get to work again.’
‘I loved doing it. It was fascinating to hear about your grandparents’ story, and reading you finally writing asyou… I feel like you’ve really found your voice, Rach. Reading it felt like hearing you in my head.’
Rachel’s eyes brim. She pulls Tilly into a sideways hug.
‘And this is why you’re going to be so great at your new job. You sure do know how to make a writer feel special.’
They share a hug and then Rachel pulls back, looking around wistfully.
‘This is such a lovely bookshop. It’s so sad that it’s closing.’
With everyone laughing and smiling and sharing stories of how much the bookshop means to them, it’s easy to forget why they’re all here. It really does feel so much like a celebration that it’s easy to forget it’s an ending.
Just as Tilly feels tears pricking her eyes, the door opens again and a voice makes her turn.
‘Bonjour! On est arrivés!’
Standing in the doorway are the Paris Grief Gang: Lola, John, Pierre, Fairooz,Cécileand Cécile’s girlfriend, Bertrice. Tilly lets out a squeal and rushes to greet them, finding herself wrapped up in a tangle of arms and kisses.
‘I’m so happy to see you all,’ Tilly says, once she’s hugged them all tightly. ‘I can’t believe you’re all here!’
‘Christmas is always a tough time of year,’ says John, dressed in his usual tweed but with a festive tartan bow tie. ‘We all agreed that spending it in London was a wonderful thing to do. I’ve hired a rather darling Airbnb not far from here.’
‘It’shuge,’ Lola mouths, wide-eyed.
‘We’re going to the pub for lunch tomorrow and are going to have a marvellous time,’ says John. ‘But first I need to have a good look around this utterly charming bookshop.’
‘Me too,’ says Fairooz, heading straight to the crime shelves.
Pierre is already browsing in the art and design section, while Lola heads straight for romance.
‘Ça va?Are you OK?’Cécileasks, once the others have wandered off to inspect the shelves.
Prudence and Blue are busy at the till, and Alfie is sat onthe cushions in the children’s corner readingThe Jolly Postmanto a group of small children, complete with all the voices. ‘White Christmas’ plays on a wireless speaker of Joe’s that Tilly brought from home. It all looks so beautifully, painfully lovely that it’s suddenly hard not to cry.
‘It’s so nice that everyone has come to show their support. But it makes it harder in a way too, knowing how much the shop means to everyone and how much it will be missed.’
