“I miss you already, Mae.”
“I know.” Mae sniffled, straightened. Walked as she talked, back out to the counter. Straightened her stacks of books. “But we’ll do it again. Soon. You saved me this week. Can you…keep making sure I don’t lock myself away over here?”
“You can count on me, Captain.”
“Thanks, babe.”
“Keep me updated on that sitch of yours.”
“I will. Mwah.”
“Mwah.”
When she hung up, she turned on Jesus’s death party playlist before she placed the phone back on the counter.
And then she woke up the computer, and got to work adding these fresh and shiny books into her inventory. As she typed and scanned away, a memory surfaced: standing in the IGA her first day in town, talking to Taylor Nguyen about buying Pokémon books for Lanh.
She opened a new browser right then, searching for all the Pokémon she could find.
Like that, it hit her.
Why didn’t she knowallof Greyfin Bay’s favorite books? She’d asked some tourists this morning for theirs, but?—
Maybe she hadn’t actually been doing the work at all.
She picked the phone back up and sent a text to Liv.Hey—mind if I come bug your patrons for a while?
Then she grabbed another stack of business cards, and locked the door behind her.
* * *
Dell showed up mid-morning the next day.
Mae smiled, cautious but true, at the sight of him.
His skin was wan, the space under his eyes almost purple, shoulders tense. Just like he’d appeared the last time she’d seen him post-trigger. Her smile faltered as she took him in, as she held back the urge to go to him, wrap her arms around his back and rest her head on his chest.
But Dell had been living with this for years now; he likely had his own routines. Likely didn’t want to keep talking about it. She’d promised she wouldn’t touch him.
“Hi,” she said, turning back toward the bookshelf where she was arranging the books that had arrived yesterday. This wouldn’t be their final resting spot, but books still deserved to be on bookshelves.
“Hi. I brought the rest of the stuff from the truck, if you want to help me unload it. And then I’m going to get to work on the rest of the shelves.”
She put down the paperback in her hand. She’d almost forgotten about the rest of the stuff.
“Of course. Thanks, Dell.”
He dipped his head in acknowledgement before heading outside, Mae at his heels. She couldn’t quite tell if carrying furniture together helped with the awkwardness between them or only enhanced it, but either way, she was grateful for the bits of familiarity they brought to the shop: a favorite old table, placed under the window by the front counter. A dresser she planned on using for storage in the office. Her favorite comfy armchair, placed in the reading area. And then a few random pieces she wasn’t quite sure where to put, so they were put upstairs for now, one creaky step at a time.
Mae wiped at her sweaty brow when they’d placed the last one against the wall in the otherwise empty second floor.
“Thanks,” she said. But Dell was already walking away, toward the two windows at the front of the room. Mae followed. And then they stood a while, watching. The view of the ocean, of Main Street, of the entirety of Greyfin Beach and the cliffs that enclosed it was so much clearer from up here. Something special.
“I know it seemed like my move to Greyfin Bay was impulsive,” she said after a spell. “I know there’s still a lot I have to learn about the town. But in a way…it feels like my body’s always been waiting to get back to the ocean, you know? I’ve always loved it so much.”
Dell was quiet, his eyes still focused on the view. But she knew he was listening. Dell was also good at listening.
“And my parents are here now, too. It feels like…I don’t know. I’ve never believed in fate, or anything like that, but it does feel primal, somehow. Ending up here.”
