“Would you look at that.” Felix’s arm wrapped around Mae’s shoulder. “It appears as if you bought every single one of my suggestions.”
“Of course I did, Dad. I own a bookstore now. I need your nerd knowledge more than ever.”
“You’re going to get me choked up, here.” He squeezed her shoulder, like he actually might get choked up. Except then he said, “And how have sales been going?”
“Dad. We’ve barely been open an hour.”
“All right, all right.”
“I’m going to look around, but we were thinking of making a day of it,” Jodi said. “We’d love to see where you’re staying up here, after you close up. Maybe celebrate with some dinner.”
“Mom,” Mae said. “I don’t close for eight more hours.”
“Mae,” Jodi said. “We’re retired. We have eight hours. Anyway, we won’t be in your hair the whole time, and we won’t stay long?—”
“You’ll leave before it gets dark? You really shouldn’t be driving in the dark.”
Jodi rolled her eyes. “Yes, Mae, we’ll leave before it gets dark.”
Mae’s shoulders relaxed under her father’s arm. “Yeah. Yeah, that sounds great.”
“Can I check out the office? And the upstairs?” Felix asked, looking behind their shoulders, already analyzing every nook and cranny behind his glasses.
“Nothing’s up there right now, but sure. Go wild, Mom and Dad.”
“Mae Bae,” Vik said two hours later, after Jodi and Felix had left, after another series of customers had rolled through. “Go take a break, okay? It’s lunchtime.”
“But—”
“Mae Kellerman.” Vik used their serious-shit voice. “Go sit down.”
So Mae grabbed a pastry, and she sat down. It was quieter in the office, but she could still hear Vik and Jackson out front, the din of the playlist she’d carefully curated for opening day, the murmur of customers.
Customers.
A wave of surrealness washed over her.
She brought out her phone, and bit her lip on a smile.
She swiveled in her chair to look out the back door as she opened the voicemail, to gaze at the raised beds and the place where she still hoped to see him, somehow, each morning she drove in.
“Mae.”
It was followed by a short sigh of frustration, but as with every time Dell McCleary had ever said Mae’s name, Mae shivered.
“Dammit, the time change keeps getting me, somehow. I must have just missed when you opened the doors, but…Mae, I wish I could be there.” A pause. Mae imagined Dell’s throat moving under his beard as he swallowed, a calloused hand running over his face. “But no matter how the day goes, you got this, okay? It’s gonna be…it’s gonna be fantastic, Mae. I’m so fucking proud of you.”
Mae had been trying to keep her cool, let his voice breeze over her. But she almost gasped when he punched out the curse. He felt so present in that curse, so earnest and intense, like he was suddenly there again, next to her.
Except then he finished with, “I can’t wait to hear how it goes. Talk to you soon,” and when the line went silent in her ear, she tried, as she always tried, to not hear all the missing words he never said.
I’ll be back to see it soon.
Can’t wait to see you again.
* * *
“Hi,” Mae said to a freckled woman with shiny red hair, when she returned to the floor. She forced a smile. “Welcome to Bay Books.”
