Page 91 of Check You Out

7 Days Later

I lift Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan off the shelf and push the staff recommendation placard underneath the pages. “Look at that, ‘Aidan’s Pick’,” I declare to the man in question. Aidan is sitting in one of the cozy armchairs with his ankle hooked on his knee. Thelma is curled up in his lap, sleeping. Lloyd has wedged himself in the little gap between Aidan’s thigh and the chair’s arm. Despite being pinned in by two cute animals, Aidan looks content.

“You’ve giving me a lot of power and responsibility,” my boyfriend remarks, running a hand over Thelma’s fluffy fur. “Are you sure you want to do that?”

“Every staff member has a display for their picks,” I say with a playful tone to my voice.

“What? Do you think I’m going to put my kudos on a bad book? We don’t sell any bad books,” he replies. “You know, someone got irritated at me last week when I told her that we don’t sell the Harry Potter series?”

I nod. My heart skips at beat at hearing him say we. “I was there. Someone got irritated at me for not selling Neil Gaiman. When you were in the back room, someone came in and thanked me for not selling books from either of those authors.”

“Were they the person who bought like a dozen books?” he asks.

“Yup, it actually pays to not support horrible people.” I adjust the display one last time before plopping down in the chair next to him. Letting out a sigh, I pull out my phone. There are a few texts from Nicole that I need to address, and a missed call from an author’s personal assistant regarding an upcoming signing event. I scroll through the messages and frown.

“Nothing from Mayor Harrington?” Aidan asks in a gentle voice.

I shake my head. I haven’t heard from Mayor Harrington since the Open Comment meeting last week.

He reaches over and caresses my arm. “She’ll tell us the minute she knows anything. She knows how important the library is to us.”

I bob my head. “I know. It’s just. They’ve got until midnight to decide, or else everything explodes and I—”

“Whoa, whoa. whoa, hold up there, Charlotte.” He squeezes my arm. “Everything is not going to explode if they don’t keep the library open.” He glides a lock of hair behind my ear. “Remember, the council is voting today.”

“I was hoping they’d vote early,” I reply, tears starting to well up in my eyes. Partially over the lack of information regarding the library, and partially over the fact that Aidan is being so supportive.

Aidan scratches the space between Thelma’s ears, waking her from her nap. “Come here,” he murmurs to me. I rise from my chair, and he sets both of our babies onto the other chair. Thelma lets out a little trill of protest before circling once and settling into a loaf. Lloyd scratches and proceeds to lick himself.

Aidan pulls me into his lap, wrapping his arms around me. I close my eyes and breathe in the smell of coffee and cinnamon. He strokes his hand over my hair, whispering comforting words to me. I melt into him, feeling his warmth seep into my skin and bones.

“I love you,” he murmurs into my hair. “Whatever happens, we’ll get through it.”

I play with the sleeve of his T-shirt. “Even if I eventually have to close up shop because my revenue stream dries up and you can’t get books from me anymore?”

“The books are certainly a nice perk, but I love you for you.” He kisses the tip of my nose, sending a shiver down my spine. “Besides, maybe we can open another bookstore somewhere else. Canterbury doesn’t have an independently owned bookstore.”

I lean back, and he drags his knuckles along my jaw and cheek. “They do have a Barnes and Noble though.”

Aidan raises an eyebrow. “Barnes and Noble doesn’t have a bookstore cat.” When I don’t answer, he adds on, “Or you.”

“Maybe they could hire me,” I remark. “I’d get benefits, but I’d be a corporate employee. I think I could deal with that.”

A chuckle rumbles through him. “Whatever happens, we’ll be ok.”

I squint, studying him for a few seconds. “Why is it that you’re the one with anxiety, but you’re the one comforting me over the library and this business?”

He shrugs. “Because my anxiety was formed from generational trauma and realizes itself in social situations?”

I shake my head and lean in to kiss him. Our lips meet for only a brief instant when the bell above the door bangs against the doorframe. I throw myself off him, cursing myself over the fact that I left the door unlocked even though the store isn’t open yet. Aidan chuckles from the chair.

“Charlotte! Aidan!”

I turn, and there’s Nicole, her face flushed and her red hair all frizzy and wild. She’s got a bewildered expression on her face and her chest is heaving. My eyes grow wide and my jaw hinges open. “Who’s dead?”

Nicole blinks a moment and then seems to break out of whatever trance she’s in. “No one. Nobody died.”

“Did you run here from the café?” I ask. “What the hell is going on?”