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“He’s doing really well,” Aunt Faye said, tipping her head toward Alex. “Great idea you girls had, to have a book signing.”
“And Grandpa did awesome as you-know-who,” Brooklyn said, who had been all smiles today.
That was another thing Mia loved about the Christmas season—it brought the kid out in everyone, even the moody teens.
“He really did,” she said. “The kids couldn’t get close enough to him when he was reading. In fact, a little girl climbed up in his lap after just a few pages. I stepped forward to help relocate her, but Dad gave me a wink and just kept on reading.”
“Who would have thought?” Aunt Faye laughed. “Something tells me he’s going to become a featured act at this event going forward.”
“Agreed.”
“And did you see the donation jar?” Brooklyn asked.
Mia glanced to the checkout counter and was amazed to see their fish bowl—decorated to look like an ornament, for old time’s sake—nearly full of bills and coins. “Oh my heavens, this really is turning out to be a success. Just think of all the yarn and books we’ll be able to buy for next year!”
“Our town knitters will certainly have their hands full,” Aunt Faye said.
Two o’clock was here before they knew it, and Alex, fresh out of books, was up and on the go. He thanked everyone in her family for putting on such a wonderful event, kissed Mia good-bye, and was gone, hurrying to catch up with his family for dinner. She still felt bad for him that his parents hadn’t been able to come, but at least her family was here supporting him. The others stayed until closing, all breathing a sigh of relief once theOPENsign was turned toCLOSED.
“We did it!” Del high-fived Isaac and Brooklyn. “Best Brooks Books holiday event ever!”
“I’ll take your word for it, since this is my first one.” Isaac laughed. “But I think I saw the Channel Ten news van outside, so hopefully you guys will get even more exposure now.”
“Quick, pull up their website so we can watch to see if they mention us on the five o’clock news.”
“Did they come inside, though?” Mia asked, helping her aunt break down the snack station. They’d had leftovers after the holiday event and so had left the table set up for their afternoon customers to graze from. “I mean, heck, they could have been grabbing lunch at the Sweet Mash.”
“True,” Isaac said. “I’m not sure if they came in or not. It got pretty crazy there for a while.”
“And crazy is good, honey,” Del said. “Crazy is always good.”
Mia laughed. Leave it to the family rebel to say something like that.
“It’s too bad Alex couldn’t have stayed longer,” Aunt Faye said. “We had plenty of cookies he could have helped eat.”
“Yeah, I was bummed he had to leave, too. But the last time he missed a family dinner, his mother fell and broke her arm. I think he still feels guilty about it, so I didn’t give him any grief about leaving.”
“Oh, I’m sure he’ll be back soon enough.”
Mia nodded. “Tomorrow, if we’re lucky.”
“Seems you’re rather smitten with him. I’m so happy for you, sweetheart.”
“Thanks, Aunt Faye. And yeah, he’s definitely growing on me.”
“Pfft, growing nothing,” Del said. “You’ve been walking around starry-eyed ever since he showed up here a few weeks ago.”
“Oh, look! There’s Alex!”
Everyone scrambled to crowd around Isaac at the computer monitor. Sure enough, there was Alex on the screen, a large stack of books beside him and a small line of people before him. Had he had that many books with him today? And strange, Mia didn’t remember him having those little clusters of balloons on the table.
“Why does the bottom of the screen say ‘LIVE’?” Brooklyn asked. “Alex left a few hours ago.”
Del shrugged. “Turn up the volume, Isaac. I can’t hear what they’re saying.”
After some clicking, the sound from the news story grew louder.
“…according to store manager Jenn Flora, their event will run until six tonight. But don’t delay, signed copies of best-selling Hoosier author Alex Wellington are going fast. Reporting live from Books-A-Plenty in South Bend, Indiana, this is Carla Sampson with News Channel Ten.”
