“Wow!” she said brightly, matching his playful tone. “How do you get into that line of work?”
“That’s the great tragedy, Diana,” he said, shaking his head sadly. “There’s no pay in it. Thus, I am here to pay the bills.”
He swept an arm grandly around his office, and she laughed.
“Aside from being pulled from your true calling of hanging out with old timers, how are you enjoying Magnolia Shore?” she asked. “You arrived in the summer, which is kind of a crazy time, what with all the tourists.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Oh,thisis your crazy season?” Then he coughed. “Oh, sorry, I mean, uh… this is a lively and vibrant town!”
She laughed at his clumsy cover-up.
“It’s okay,” she said. “It’s not the most exciting place, it’s true.”
He winced. “Yeah, sorry. I came here from Cleveland, which isn’t New York or anything, but there’s alwayssomethinghappening. Here, it seems like maybe Anchor Bistro and the open mic night is about all there is.”
She wobbled her hand in a so-so gesture. “You’re definitely going to see less going on than you did in the city, but it’s not a total snooze, I promise. There’s a bookstore opening soon. My friend Eleanor owns it. The grand opening is going to be amazing!” She paused, considering. “Okay, yeah, I hear it. Getting this hyped about a bookstore opening doesn’texactlysell you on my ‘lots of things happen around here’ argument.”
He smiled. It really lit up his face when he smiled.
“You know, my daughter and I moved here looking for a quieter life in a place where the people were friendly and knew one another. Like the stereotype of being able to go next door and ask your neighbors for a cup of sugar kind of place.”
“Oh, you’ll definitely find that here,” she assured him. “Honestly, you have a good chance of getting that sugar, and then, some eggs, and oh, what are you baking? Muffins? Well, I have some fresh baked muffins right here! Would you like some?”
She performed this little impromptu skit in a grandmotherly tone. It was silly, and very unlike her, and for a split second shealmost felt embarrassed, but then Anthony laughed in a warm, kind way.
“Perfect,” he said, pretending to take her invisible tray of muffins. “I’m not much of a baker, anyway. My daughter will definitely like these better than anything I could whip up.”
“Yeah, you mentioned your daughter,” Diana said. “How old is she?”
As if on cue, a girl who appeared to be about ten came skipping through the door, a pile of books in her arms. She paused when she saw Diana, which caused her pile to wobble and then drop everywhere. The girl scrambled to catch them, which made her drop even more books.
“Hi, El,” Anthony said as he and Diana bent to help pick up the books. “Diana, this is my daughter, Eloise.”
“Hi, Ms. Diana,” Eloise said politely.
“Nice to meet you, Eloise,” Diana said. She made to hand over the books she’d recovered from the floor, then paused. “Hey wait,” she said. “I know these books.”
The covers that looked up at her were familiar, the bright colored backgrounds tickling her memory. This was a series about kids who fought to protect the environment, she recalled. Diana hadlovedthem when she was young.
“You do?” Eloise’s eyes were bright. She looked a lot like her father, with dark hair and a wild, expressive grin. “My teacher gave these to me.”
“I’m guessing your teacher grew up around the same time I did,” Diana said. “Yeah, these books are awesome. Each kid takes on a different way of protecting the environment. So you learn about ecosystems and different species, and a bunch of stuff I’m probably forgetting, because my favorite parts were the adventures.”
“I like adventures and science,” Eloise told her.
“El is a bit of a bookworm,” Anthony said, voice unmistakably fond. “So, this ‘new bookstore in town’ news actuallydoesmake Magnolia Shore the best place in the world, as far as she’s concerned.”
Eloise nodded. “I’m saving upallmy allowance. Then I’m going to getsomany books!”
She did a little dance to punctuate her excitement, which led her to nearly drop all her books again. Diana smiled, charmed by this irrepressible girl.
“El, can you go read for a bit? I actually never got around to asking Diana what she needed.” His grin was sheepish.
“Sure, Daddy!”
With a skip in her step that said this was no hardship at all, Eloise headed back out to the waiting area and curled up in a chair, already turning to the first page of the first installment in the series.
“I’m still figuring out a long-term after-school situation for her here,” Anthony admitted, watching his daughter with a small smile on his face. “But for now, I’m just so lucky that she’s happy to curl up and read while I wrap up for the day.”
