“That’s it for me, Karla,” Daniel said as he finished wiping down the bar counter. “Everything is good to go. Is the front door locked up? Want me to go out the back to leave?”
“No, I haven’t locked anything up yet. You can go out the front without issue.”
“OK, but just to be safe, lock it up right after I go. I don’t feel comfortable with you behind here alone without things being locked up.” He grabbed his jacket and his umbrella before he paused. “Well, actually, I could wait for you to lock up, so you aren’t alone. And maybe if you’re hungry, we can grab a bite.”
I smiled but shook my head. “Rain check on dinner. I’m a bit spent after the past two days. I’ll lock up right after you head out. I promise.”
Daniel gave me his sweet smile and said good night. Out of our friend group, he was the one who always initiated us hanging out. Often, he’d ask me to dinner or lunch, but over the past few months as I prepared to open the bookshop, I was always so tired. I probably owed him at least fifteen lunch and dinner dates. He never seemed upset with the rain checks, though, and when I worked long nights in the shop, he’d showup with dinner for me and help me paint the walls and set up bookshelves. I truly valued his friendship.
As Daniel walked out of the door, the bell overhead rang, signaling his departure. I held a stack of bookmarks in my hand as I sorted through them to place on the counter.
Just then, the bells over the door rang again.
“You forget something, Daniel?” I questioned, still looking down at the bookmarks in my hand.
“Oh, uh, sorry. Not Daniel.”
I turned around with haste to find Ash standing there in navy slacks and a white tucked-in shirt. He held a navy jacket over his head to keep from getting completely soaked from the rain outside. He flicked a finger against the bridge of his nose, brushing off some of the water as he glanced around the shop.
“Sorry, I just... I was working all day and, well, uh, are you closed?” he asked. He glanced down at his watch. “Dammit, you closed at nine. I’m a solid fifteen minutes late. I’m sorry. I can come back tomorrow. I just thought...” He lowered his head and fiddled with his hands. In that split second, I saw the kid I once knew. The nervous boy who was always fiddling with something in his hands.
He rolled his shoulders back and his posture straightened as he turned to leave.
I stepped in his direction. “Wait, no!”
Ash’s steps paused as he turned back to face me. “Sorry. I guess it’s weird for me to just show up, but I was hoping you’d be here... I don’t know why, but I was hoping.” A small smile found his mouth, and I once again saw a flash of the boy I once knew. “I saw you had a name tag on yesterday. So I assumed you worked here.”
“You assumed right.” I shook my head. “I mean, kind of. I own the shop.”
He arched an eyebrow. “Wait... You own this?”
“Yeah.” I gestured around. “I own this.”
The stunned expression on his face made me smile. “Shit, Karla. Youownthis?!”
“Yes, I own this.”
The way he was impressed made me feel pride in my hard work, too. Because yeah, I owned this. My brain was still trying to wrap around the whole concept, too. I wondered when it would truly settle in that I owned Second Chance Bookshop. It still felt like a fever dream. And I knew it was partly because of Ash that I had made the dream of the shop come to life. He was the one who pushed me to open the shop, after all.
He took a few steps toward me, and with each step my heart began to beat a little faster. A little wilder. “I know it’s probably weird for me to come back here. But I just couldn’t stop—”
“Thinking of us,” I finished.
He agreed with a nod. “You too?”
“Yeah. Me too.”
He glanced at his watch again. “Sorry, we can have a little reconnection tomorrow or later this week if that’s better. Or I can just leave you completely alone. I...” His words faded and his eyes flashed with a heaviness I hadn’t seen from him since the day of his father’s funeral. Before I could comment, he blinked it away. Again.
The look gave me chills of unease.
Even though there was a part of me that wanted to ask him a million questions, I didn’t want to scare him away. I’d keep the conversation public, not too personal. So instead I said, “Do you want a drink?”
“Only if you have one, too.”
“Have a seat or look around. Whatever feels right. I’m justgoing to lock the front door to make sure no other ghosts from my past come wandering in.”
“This is veryChristmas Carolof me, I suppose,” Ash joked.
