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Pippa
Pippa turned the page on the novel she was reading as her newest hire, Troy, set a stack of books in front of her.
“I think I found all the ones you requested.” Troy handed her the handwritten note.
Pippa stood, accepting the list before tossing it in the trash. “Did you get a chance to watch those videos I sent you?”
Troy nodded. “Yeah. If you have a seizure, I’m grateful to know the basics on how to help. Does it happen often?”
“Often enough to have to tell all my employees about it, but for the most part, I get absence seizures.”
“Those are the ones where you might look like you’re staring off into space, right?” he clarified.
“Sometimes. And over here on the desk is a quick list of dos and don’ts.” Pippa pointed to the printout on the wall to the side of the desk.
“I’ll try my best to help you out if you have one,” Troy promised.
She scanned the stack of children’s books he’d grabbed. “These are perfect. Did you get a chance to meet Miss Marsha Divine? She comes in weekly for drag queen story hour. She’ll be reading some of these, and I’d like to have them set up over here for any parents who want a copy for themselves.”
“I did. She seems lovely.” Troy picked the first book and read the title. “It Feels Good To Be Yourself: A Book About Gender Identity.” He nodded and pushed some of the longer tufts of his brown hair from his face. His brown eyes crinkled at the edges when he smiled. “Sounds interesting. I wish they had books like this when I was growing up. It’s really cool that you put this on here.”
She beamed as a swirl of happiness flitted through her. “Just doing what I can to help spread kindness and acceptance to fight ignorance.”
His gaze locked with hers before it dropped to her mouth. “My kinda woman.”
Heat rose to her cheeks. Was he flirting with her? “Well, I’d better go check on things before they start the reading, since you have the front covered. If you need me, just holler.”
Pippa got to her feet, Lady by her side as she made her way through the store. She scanned the shop, making sure none of her current customers wanted help as she made her way along one of the rows. An older woman sat in the corner window seat hunched over an Agatha Christie novel Pippa had specially ordered for her.
The book shop was bustling with customers and parents from all over town, packing their kids like sardines into the space surrounding the fabulous Miss Marsha Divine.
“I hope we aren’t late,” Remy said, holding her son, Phoenix’s hand as her daughter skipped ahead towards the giant circular rainbow rug. There, other kids watched in awe as the drag queen shone in her sequined silver dress with a red feather boa.
“Nope. We’re just about to begin.”
Remy smiled and tucked her braided hair behind her back. “I guess I’ll go find a seat. Oh, I see Jasmine is here already.”
The door opened again as another woman walked in holding a little boy. “!Llegamos!”We’re here.
Pippa’s mouth split into a smile at the familiar tongue. “Bienvenidos.” She welcomed her.
“Hablas espãnol?” the woman asked.
“Si.”
“Where is your accent from?”
“I’m Boricua. My mother was from the western side of the island.” Pippa grinned, proud of her heritage. “And you?”
“I’m Mia, from Montemorelos, and you’re my new best friend.” The woman smiled.
“You haven’t met Pippa yet?” Remy asked the newcomer.
“I’ll admit I’ve only been using my e-reader for books. I know, please don’t hate me.” Mia bit her bottom lip.
Pippa laughed. “Oh, never mind about that.” She switched to a whisper. “I, too, own an e-reader.”
Mia grinned.
