Maybe it was because she’d already had her first surgery,but I was so worried about her, even though everyone said she’d be fine. Still, when Amelia finally returned home, I jumped on her legs like she’d just rescued me from the kennel all over again, and my eyes got all wet.
“Why, Harold, are youcrying?” she said, letting me lick her face. “I missed you so much, too. I’m here now, though. I’m here.”
“Dogs don’t cry,” Miguel told her, but she pulled a book off the shelf and showed him some passage that proves that we do. We cry when we’re happy, and we cry when we’re sad, though we also howl when we’re really upset. Just like humans.
So, I let myself cry a little now, and it feels like happiness and sadness and remembering, all mixed together. And I don’t mind, even though I know Amelia Mae might not understand it. I hope she does one day, though. Because it’s the kind of feeling you can have only after you’ve loved so much that you know in your bones that moving on will never, ever be the same thing as lettinggo.
Forty-Three
It’s time.
And we’re ready. There are balloons and banners throughout the store, and right in front of the enormous Romance section, Brenna and Dane have loaded long tables with cold drinks and food that I’m forbidden to eat. There’s only one thing left todo.
“Here we go,” calls Miguel, wheeling the dolly toward the table that’s in front of the braided rug and under the rainbow painting.
“What’s in there?” asks Brenna, watching Miguel pull a box cutter out of his back pocket.
“Amelia’s books,” he says proudly. “She had dozens of extras she planned to use at events, but they’ve just been sitting in her office all this time,” he tells her. “Think you can add them to the inventory before we get started?”
“You know I can.”
“You’re the best. Well, other than Riley,” he says, and they laugh. “Technically she’s the best, too. Are you two back on good terms?”
Brenna smiles sheepishly. “Then you knew?”
He nods. “About your cold war? Kind of hard to miss.”
“Ugh, sorry. But yeah, she apologized, and I…well, of course I forgave her. I wish she’d have told me everything earlier, but it is what it is. I don’t think we’re right for each other, but I’m really happy to call her a friend again.”
“I cannot tell you how glad I am to hear that,” he says, patting her arm. “A friend like that is hard to find.”
I watch from the front counter as Riley strides over to him. “Hey, boss?”
“Yes, manager?” he says, and she grins.
“How would you feel about a sign for this table that says, ‘Read Amelia’s Rainbow’? I’ll keep brainstorming if you want,” she adds quickly. “Still, I feel like we should do something extra special with the display—something that really brings attention to the author who started this place. What do you think?”
“I think…” he says, pivoting slowly to look around the store. He smiles when he reaches Riley again. “I think that would be the exact right thing.”
Then he carefully cuts through the tape and pulls back the box flaps. “These are ready to find a good home.”
Riley plucks a paperback from the box. Then she turns toward the rainbow, presses the book to her heart for a moment, and says, “They already have.”
—
The bookstore is packed.
People are standing shoulder to shoulder. Riley and Brennahave set up chairs in front of the podium for those who cannot stand, and those are all taken, too. There are even a few stragglers out front on the sidewalk. But this time, they’re not here for Jonathan Middleton-Biggs.
They’re here for our store…and for Amelia.
Because Riley and Brenna have accomplished a true feat and have called all of Amelia’s author friends, even the one who upset Miguel by rearranging Amelia’s books at her memorial. And though it was short notice, many have driven in and even flown in from across the country to celebrate Amelia and bring attention to the store with the help of a bunch of strangers on the internet, whatever thatis.
“You’re sure you’re okay, Harold?” Miguel asks, bending down to scratch my ears.
I’m near the register, in the plastic wagon that Amelia Mae once used when she was young. She made Fiona bring it in from Chicago because she didn’t want anyone stepping onme.
Me?I tell him.I’m fine. Are you?
