Alba
This had to be how all kids left alone in a candy store felt. I had his credit card and could purchase whatever I wanted. There had to be a basket in my hand, and my first walk around the bookstore, I looked at every single shelf. I did try to look at every title, but it felt like there were hundreds of thousands of books.
Some books pulled me in just by the title alone. Others, by the cover. I know I shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but come on, some books just looked better than others. Although I would not judge, I was drawn to it.
Every now and then, I checked the café to make sure Odin was still there and this wasn’t some kind of setup.
My dad never allowed me to wander alone in a bookstore. I had to have a guard with me, or my dad would come with me, and he’d get so tired of me trying to choose. He would lose his temper and choose for me. He had the most boring taste in books.
I couldn’t help but stop at the cookbook section. Cookbooks were not something I was allowed, because I was never going to be a cook. I didn’t need to learn to cook. I also had to sneak in watching cooking shows, because my parents didn’t approve.
Picking up a couple of baking books, which showed real promise, I then added another two of everyday meals, because I wanted to learn to cook and bake. Moving on, I did not bother with any other books and instead went straight to the romance section.
Romance was everything. I didn’t care if it was thriller or horror, as long as there was romance. I loved two unlikely peoplefinding love, overcoming all obstacles to find one another, and to have that happily ever after.
A happily ever after I knew in the real world didn’t truly exist. Not everyone got a happy ending. Most people didn’t. They just did what they needed to, in order to survive.
I looked through all the books and picked up many different titles. Then, I looked in my basket, which was getting heavier. I counted over twenty books, most of them struggling to fit into the basket.
“Crap,” I said in a whisper. There was no way I would be able to take all of them back home. First of all, this was supposed to be a gift, and a gift came with restrictions. It wasn’t proper to get twenty books, and I should just stick with the cookbooks.
“What are you doing?” Odin asked.
This made me pause, as I was about to find the shelves to put the other books back onto. I didn’t want to be greedy.
“Nothing,” I said, and offered him a smile.
“The books, is that all you’ve got?”
Okay, to a bookworm, that question is so damn good. He didn’t make it sound like I was being obsessive with my purchase.
“You don’t think that is too much?”
“It’s a good start, but we can come back in a few weeks. Let’s get this rung up, packed, and you can enjoy a coffee with me.”
“I don’t have to take them all,” I said.
“You picked them, right?” he asked.
“Yes.” I tried to think of a reason that was a mistake for me picking them all, and yet I had nothing, because I did want them. The truth was, apart from a few sections, I was interested in everything. I’d gladly take the whole bookstore home.
“Then, end of discussion.” He picked up the basket as if it weighed nothing.
This was all new for me.
The moment I picked one book off the shelf, that was it, my dad was happy to call it a day, and I rarely returned to the same bookstore. If I thought about it now, whenever he did take me to a bookstore, he always did so far from home.
Am I just realizing that my father was embarrassed by me? Was he ashamed because I loved books, or to be seen out with me? That was crazy, I was his daughter, but the horrible niggling doubt was suddenly there, penetrating my brain, and I struggled to think.
Odin put the basket on the counter, and the woman serving us was giddy. She’d pick up a book and tell me how good it was. I smiled in all the right places and responded when I needed to, but I was kind of having a revelation right now. Something I hadn’t even thought about. Is this why my parents brought clothes home with them, so they didn’t have to go to the store with me? How was I only realizing this now?
After the purchases had been rung up, the woman behind the counter thanked Odin and offered me a smile.
I expected Odin to take us out to his car, but he walked us back to the table where he’d been sitting earlier. It was then I realized the woman had thanked Odin by name.
“Do you know that woman?” I asked.
“Cathy, yeah, I do.”
