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"I think you're selling yourself short. Keeping that book as your favorite keeps your mother’s spirit closer. And my light would never dim from seeing hardships. If anything, I'd hope it would brighten even more to help those through their own darkness."
"You're the only reason I'm not lost in it, Sunshine. You are that for me right now."
Unable to think of a response, I noticed our time had come to an end. The guard came to collect him as I stared into his dark eyes. They searched mine, finding I could be read like an open book. Everything about him made me feel alive, and I hadn't felt this way in years. "You're that for me too," I whispered right as he passed by me.
seventeen
Millie
After my delightful talk with Draven, I knew I couldn’t wait another minute to finish out my scheme. He already finished the one book I gave him for book club, so now I needed to get him something else. And that very something I knew Astrid would have in her special section the back of her store hosted. Limited editions and signed copies of older books, and she happened to have Where the Sidewalk Ends in there.
Checking my bank account, I somehow had gotten a small inflation from work because of the overtime I put in to make more money. Between that and the extra cash in my purse, I knew I could give Draven something to remind him of the good in his life. I could give it to him after book club when I saw him, so I set out on my mission to procure the book. When I texted Kasey about it, she told me to run like hell to keep the joy as long as I could. Having her for a bestie felt incredible in my moments I needed someone to tell me my idea wasn’t crazy.
Exhilaration filled me deep within the marrow of my bones. Astrid’s store would only be open for another thirty minutes, so I needed to make it before closing. Logically, I knew I could go tomorrow, but the excitement begged me to fulfill this idea now. If not, I’d probably talk myself out of it, and I didn’t want that. Draven needed something to focus on during his stay, and I now knew his favorite book from his youth.
Parking the car, I dashed into the store and found Astrid writing notes in her book. Running her numbers for the day, I couldn’t imagine doing my own booking for a business, but she proved her ability on more than one occasion. Astrid always impressed me with her keen mind. I felt like she could run an empire, but she chased her dream to run a bookstore instead.
Looking up, she gently smiled. Her eyes told me how long her day had been. She really needed to hire another body to help her run the place, but she always said these were her babies, and she didn’t trust anyone with them. I could partly understand that.
“Three times in the span of two weeks. And here I thought I wouldn’t see you from your finances being tight.” Closing her book, she stepped around the counter.
“Oh, yes. That was true, but I ended up working more, so my check had a little leniency.” Shrugging, I couldn’t help but blush a little too. “But I am here for something specific in your back room.”
“Oh?” Her smile widened, knowing how much I loved that room. Her rarities were ones I’d die to have.
“Yes. You have a first edition of Where the Sidewalk Ends that was signed?” I made it a question to make sure she still had it.
“Let’s go look.” Grabbing her set of keys, she kept the books in a cage-like room. We could see into the glass box, but no hand could go in. The room had the perfect lighting and climate control for the books to thrive and last.
My eyes always glanced over the items inside, jealous of their beauty I couldn’t hold all the time. Astrid had let me in the room once, but even then I kept my hands to myself to ensure their survival. Where the Sidewalk Ends wouldn’t be very old compared to the others in the room, but its value was worth every penny. Some later copies of the book had a printed signature on the cover below the wrap, but hers had his true John Hancock.
Opening the heavy door, we heard the pressure release from how she kept the room. She ushered me in for less air to travel out. Once inside the cage, I let my eyes run over every sacred book inside. She had some of Shakespeare’s most prized collections that dated back to his time, and I hadn’t been lying to Draven when I told him those were my favorites. There was something so beautifully exquisite about old English that I couldn’t describe to other people. Where they saw it as something hard to read and boring, I read between each metaphor and simile with my heart. It bled with his words whenever I dove into his sonnets.
Astrid caught me eyeing the selection with a tilt on the left side of her smile. “You sure you want Where the Sidewalk Ends?”
“Yeah. I could never spend this much on myself,” I murmured, reaching for the classics but stopping before making contact.
“But you’re buying this one?” She raised the perfect condition book for me to see.
“It’s a gift.” When that didn’t soothe her soul, I sighed. “I love making people happy by showing them I listen. I love getting them a gift that screams ‘I heard you’. And before you say it, Kasey tells me all the time it stems from my lack of receiving such things. I don’t care. I know this will make him smile.”
“You’re one in a million, Mills.” Astrid lifted the price tag to see if it would be reasonable. Luckily, Shel Silverstein wrote more recently than William Shakespeare, so his price didn’t hurt my heart too much. Still, I handed over my card with a slight hesitancy. Astrid didn’t see it after we made our way to the front again.
“So I take it you’re having conversations with that man?” Her eyes twinkled with all the mischief in the world. The door to her shop opened, but I didn’t turn around to see who came. Astrid had been busy wrapping my book, so she only greeted them with her words. “Welcome!”
“I am,” I breathed out quietly between us. “It’s been nice to feel heard while also listening.”
“Excuse me, miss.” A familiar voice called for Astrid’s attention. I knew we’d have to continue our conversation another day. Zipping my lips, I stepped to the side as Astrid glanced up from putting my book in the wrapping.
When she did, her eyes widened. “Tony?”
Hearing the name she said, I flipped my gaze to find the man I expected after giving him this place to go to. “Antonio?”
His shock at seeing Astrid had him pausing before he noticed me also there. For a second, he nearly forgot about my existence. “You’ve been hiding in Chicago this whole time?”
Her eyes tracked my positioning, almost warning him. Whatever issues they had between each other, I knew I wouldn’t want a stranger hearing it either. Gritting her teeth, she turned her head back to him. “I’m not hiding anywhere. I simply moved and opened my own business.”
“Do you two know each other?” I cut in before their feud could grow.
