Page 377 of Safe With You

“It means you notice what they come back for. What events fill up. What books people ask us to order. Which tables are always occupied. Who comes in every week and who starts bringing somebody with them.”

I smiled.

“We have customers whose names I know. I know what some of them read. I know who is going to come in asking if we got the new release they’ve been waiting on before they even make it to the counter.”

“So when did it start feeling like a community instead of just a business?”

That made me pause.

“I don’t know if there was one moment.”

I looked around again.

“I think I noticed it after it had already happened.”

She waited.

“Somewhere along the way, people stopped only coming here for books. They started coming because this was one of their places.”

“One of their places?”

“Yeah. Somewhere they feel comfortable being.”

I glanced toward the café.

“That was always what I wanted. I just didn’t know exactly what it would look like until people started giving it back to me.”

She made a note.

“What are you proudest of?”

This time, I didn’t have to think very long.

“That.”

“The community?”

“All of it.”

I smiled.

“The fact that people come back. That something I started became somewhere other people feel connected to.”

“And what about you?”

I looked at her.

“What about me?”

“You’ve told me what you wanted for your customers and what you’re proud Chapter & Charm gives them. What has building it given you?”

That one caught me.

Not in a bad way.

I looked around the store again, but this time I wasn’t searching for an answer.

“Something that’s mine.”