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What kind of interview was that?
What the hell is his problem?
I stand, gathering my purse and pulling on my jacket, and jump when I hear Mary’s voice behind me.
“Sorry about him.”
I turn, accepting the coffee cup she’s handing me. “Is he always like that?”
“A ray of sunshine, you mean?” she asks with a chuckle. “Most of the time, yeah. I should’ve warned you, but I didn’t want to give you…er, what’s the opposite of rose-colored glasses?” She laughs again. “Doesn’t matter.” She waves away the question when I don’t answer. “He’s a good boss. Pays well, isn’t too picky about days off. He just wants things done his way.”
“Well, it doesn’t seem like I’ll have to worry about that,” I say with a sigh, glancing at the door. “Thank you, though. And thank you for this.” I lift up the cup of coffee.
“No problem.” She steps back and turns away, then spins to face me again. “Oh. The answer isOf Mice and Men, by the way.”
I stare at her.
“To the recommendation question,” she clarifies. “I got it wrong, too. His dad is the one who started this place years ago, and it was his favorite book. He always told Memphis—who swears by it now—it’s the universal book. The one anyone and everyone can read and enjoy.” She shrugs. “Not sure how true it is. I haven’t read it myself. But don’t tell him that.”
I smile at her. “Our secret.”
And then I’m off, just as unemployed and pathetic as I was when I arrived.
CHAPTERTWO
When Thursday rolls around, I’ve all but forgotten about my terrible interview in favor of the excitement I feel about my weekend getaway.
The house where I’ll be staying with my five closest internet friends is a grand old estate. We haven’t met in person yet, but the six of us are what you might callbook influencers.We have various accounts to promote the books we’re reading and to celebrate books in general. We’re some of the best, if I do say so myself. All blue-check verified, and authors and publishers often gift us books.
But that’s not why we do it, of course. At least, it’s not why I do it. I meant what I said in my interview. I love books. I love the way they smell, the weight of them in my hands. As a child, they took me away from what I considered a dull existence into some of the most amazing and beautiful worlds. Books have saved my life on more than one occasion, distracted me, given me something to hold onto in the darkest points of my life. And now they’ve brought me five new friends whom I’m just minutes from meeting.
We drive along the winding roads, passing one dilapidated house after the next. A few have boards up over their windows. One is missing a front door entirely. Several yards are overgrown, despite the cool November weather, signaling that they haven’t been taken care of in months.
Maybe all summer.
Seeing me staring in the rearview mirror, the driver says, “The area you’re staying in isn’t as bad as this.”
I worry about whatever face I was making that clearly told him what I was thinking.
“It’s just an old town. Lots of people lost their houses, others can’t keep up with repairs.”
“You live here?” I ask. I assumed he lived closer to the town where he picked me up from the airport, nearly an hour away from here.
“I moved away,” he says quickly. Proudly, even. “But then my mom got sick. I had to come back to help her out.” He turns on his blinker, slowing down. “I work at the little market downtown now. And the gas station.”
“Oh, wow.”
He nods, pushing his glasses up on the bridge of his nose. “Yeah, well, as you can probably guess, I don’t do much with ridesharing. You’re probably my first request in six months.” He chuckles. “But hey, if you need anything, the little downtown is within walking distance. There’s not much, but you’ll find the basics.” Leaning forward, he turns down the country song playing on the radio.
“Okay, cool. Good to know.”
“Milk, bread, some snacks, toilet paper. That sort of thing.”
I draw in my lips, bobbing my head without a clue what to say next. “Awesome.”
“Just know that everything around here closes down by five. Some even earlier in the winter. So get out during the day or you’ll have to call for a ride to Paducah. I think I might be the only driver for this area, to be honest, and I work all weekend.”
“Wow,” I muse. “That’s so wild to think about.” I’d assumed everyone was flying in and booking a rideshare, but now I wonder if everyone else drove in or managed to rent a car. I’m just a month shy of being old enough to without paying an additional fee for my age.
