Сьюзен Виггз: The Lost and Found Bookshop

Natalie’s smile was tremulous. “I’ve been putting it off—as if finishing it would mean I’d forget her. I’m trying to lose the grief but hold on to the love.”

“You’re very wise,” he said.

“A sign of good parenting,” she told him. “I didn’t always appreciate that. And I think I’ve figured out the reason. I grew up resentful about the things we didn’t have, but thinking back through the years and reading over Mom’s notes, I can see what I overlooked. We had an amazing family after all—just an unconventional one. You and Mom, and then May Lin. We had all the things that matter, didn’t we?”

The fog was moving in again, but he fought it, keeping hold of the bright colors of his granddaughter’s face. “We did,” he said. “Perhaps that’s how the story ends.”

She opened the file to the top page. “‘The Lost and Found Bookshop: A ___________.’ Mom left it blank. What did she mean to say?”

The silence yielded no answer. Andrew gazed at her lovely face, and he saw his daughter looking back at him.

She took a deep breath and wrote something in the blank, then turned the page, showing it to him.

“A Grand Adventure,” he said with a nod. “Blythe would have liked that just fine.”

* * *

Natalie dropped her grandfather off at the Silver Beaver Lodge in Archangel, the residence she’d found for him. She’d never dreamed he would acquiesce to moving, but here they were. The director of the place greeted him warmly, and Grandy gave Natalie a grin and a thumbs-up sign as he got into the golf cart to begin his introductory tour.

Please let him like it here , she thought.

“I’ll be back in an hour,” Natalie said, tucking his scarf into his collar. It was a windy day. “Are you going to be warm enough?”

“He’s in good hands,” said the director. Round-faced and smiling, she had kind-looking eyes.

Natalie drove to Pinnacle Fine Wines and did the thing that she dreaded. She’d never turned in her employee access card, and it still worked at the reception scanner. As she made her way to Rupert’s office, she passed the cube farm of her old department. Like a couple of prairie dogs, Mandy and Cheryl popped up to watch her over the dividers.

She used to worry so much about office gossip. What a waste of headspace , she thought now.

“Natalie, what brings you here?” asked Mandy, checking out her jeans and sneakers. It was quite a contrast from the way Natalie used to dress—A-line skirt, blazer, too-tight shoes.

Natalie smoothed her hands down the front of her jeans. This was who she was, who she’d always been. Comfortable clothes, no pretenses. “Looking for Rupert,” she said, and took the stairs to his corner office.

She’d called ahead, and he was waiting for her. “Welcome back,” he said, greeting her with a politician’s smile. “Or should I say, welcome home.”

“Thank you,” she said.

“I was glad to hear from you,” he said. “I think we can mend that little rift.”

“Of course,” she said, all business. “Do you have the contract from HR?”

“Right here. You can take a bit of time to go over it, but don’t take too long. The inventory department hasn’t been the same without you.”

No surprise , she thought. “Thanks again, Rupert,” she said. “I’ll get back to you soon.”

As she left the building, a gust of wind snatched the pages from her, and she had to chase them down. Mandy, who had stepped out for a smoke at the side of the building, stopped them with her foot. “Whoa there,” she said, eyeing the HR letterhead.

Natalie picked up the form, now stamped with Mandy’s boot print. “Thanks,” she said.

“Guess I’ll see you soon.” Mandy blew a plume of smoke into the wind.

Natalie didn’t want to acknowledge the knot of anxiety in her stomach as she drove away. She knew she’d be welcomed back to Pinnacle. The job was waiting for her. But she hated the idea. She used to think it was the perfect job. Now she knew her time was too precious to spend on a pursuit that didn’t mean anything but a paycheck.

She needed something else, then. Something that felt better, like the comfy sweater and lived-in jeans she had on at the moment. It wasn’t an outfit her mother would have worn to work, but it suited Natalie. Maybe the bookstore in Archangel would hire her.

It’s just a job , she reminded herself. A steady, predictable job so she could provide her grandfather with a worry-free life.

* * *

Telling Cleo and Bertie about her decision was harder than Natalie had anticipated. It was the end of the day, and they’d been busy hauling out the Christmas displays.

Every year, she and her mom and Grandy went to the Guardsmen Tree Lot up at Fort Mason to pick out a tree for the shop. The volunteers in their green jumpsuits and cheery smiles were the heralds of the season as they delivered the perfect tree, and Mom always donated books to their program for at-risk youth.

This year without her mother was going to be brutal, a deep, unbearable ache. I miss your voice , she thought, the way you sang carols off-key when we decorated, and the inside stories we knew about each ornament we hung. So much of me went with you, Mom .

“It’s going to be our last Christmas,” she said quietly, holding up a slightly battered angel whose arms formed a book display stand.

Bertie and Cleo both turned to her. “What?” Cleo asked in a whisper.

“Grandy agreed to close. We’ve got a buyer, and Grandy and I are moving up to Archangel.”

“Oh, sweetie.” Bertie’s expression crumpled and he drew them both in for a group hug. “I’m sorry. I can’t say it comes as a shock, but I’m sorry.”

“Me too,” Cleo said. “Natalie, you worked really hard and we’re proud to know you.”

She gave them a squeeze. “The target date is the first of February, but you should feel free to go anytime after the holidays.”

Cleo sighed. “Working here was my favorite excuse for not writing. Now I guess I’ll have to knuckle down and finish my play.”

Bertie nodded. “And I’ll have to get a role in a bigger production. Take down my walls and go deep. That’ll make my acting coach happy.”

“Oh, you guys. You’re the best friends I’ve ever had and I’ll love you forever.” She shooed them toward the door. “Go, before this gets too maudlin.”

After they left, she looked around the quiet shop. Sylvia came over and slipped in a figure eight between her ankles. Natalie bent to pet her, and for once the cat didn’t lash out. “What are we going to do with you?” she asked. “Are you going to like it out in the country?”

She sighed, feeling an ache in her heart. She’d been so frustrated and angry with her mother for the sloppy bookkeeping, the past-due bills, the money pit she’d been saddled with. Yet she had rediscovered her mother’s magic with stories. She’d fallen in love with the bookstore, finding the joy that had sustained Blythe Harper all her life. And now it was over.

She did a few chores to fill the time while she waited for Peach Gallagher. He was coming by to collect some tools and a final check for his services, and the prospect of seeing him again made her nervous. Catching a glimpse of her reflection in the dark shop window, she smoothed her hands down her sides and wondered if she should change. Instead of her usual conservative skirt and blouse, she wore lived-in jeans and an oversize cardigan. She decided not to dress up for him. This was who she was now, finally at ease with herself, surrendering to the decision she’d made. She wondered if Peach would notice the difference.

Her feelings for him were unlike anything in her experience. She’d never gotten it right with a man, but with Peach, the potential was there. That’s all it would ever be, because she was leaving.