10. Sydney
Chapter ten
Sydney
Brooks and I walked down Main Street together toward Ted’s. I could feel my nerves getting the best of me. I’d never played hooky from work before, and this felt exactly like that.
But something about Brooks made it so hard to say no. And he was right; I was efficient and could get things done this afternoon. We would grab lunch, stop at a store or two if he needed something else, and go back.
We ate at Ted’s quickly, me getting a wrap and him getting a stack of pancakes and bacon. Something about being with him made it pleasant. I tended to be a fairly private person. Most of the time I ate alone, preferring to have lunch at work alone in my car. I would occasionally go out with friends, but even those occasions were few and far between. But something about eating with Brooks, just doing something ordinary with him, was fun.
We left Ted’s with our bellies full, ready to explore. I paused as we stood in front of Bookstore. I was still shocked it was simply called that.
“Want to go in?” Brooks asked as I eyed the place.
“Sure.” I wasn’t much of a reader, but it looked cute, despite being sort of dark. “Is it open?”
Brooks checked his watch. “It should be. They usually open around noon.”
“Noon?” I asked. “Isn’t that late?”
He shrugged. “When it’s run by a vampire, it makes sense.”
I paused. Though I was sure Brooks wouldn’t take me anywhere dangerous, all the fictional media around vampires made me a bit wary.
“Don’t worry,” Brooks said, seeming to sense my apprehension. “Barnaby has never fed on humans, and I heard he has a little snack of his own now.”
I didn’t know what that meant, but I did trust him, so I nodded and followed him inside. It was lit so dimly that I almost couldn’t see the space, but it seemed very basic, with a wooden desk for checkout near the front and matching shelves covering the space, each filled to the brim with books.
“Welcome!” a red-haired woman at the desk said. She wore a large gray sweater and leggings, and there was a computer sitting in front of her. “Let me know if you need any help!”
“Thanks, Maisie; we will,” Brooks said. Was she the new… snack … he had mentioned? Well, she didn’t seem lifeless or unhappy, so that was a plus.
We walked around a bit. Some of the books looked very old, but I didn’t touch any of those for fear of breaking something expensive.
Brooks went off to look at sci-fi stuff while I browsed the classics. I had many books I hadn’t read for book clubs I’d never attended, but I still liked to look at the shelves and think about it.
“That’s one of my favorites,” a voice said from behind me, making me jump.
He was a tall man, with black, graying hair and intense dark eyes, intimidating enough to make me take an instinctual step backward toward the shelf.
His face was so neutral it was almost worse than if he looked angry.
“I haven’t read it,” I managed. Though I’d never encountered a vampire before, I wouldn’t let myself feel intimidated.
“It’s very compelling.”
“I agree,” a voice from my other side said. It was Maisie, who was standing there with a smile. “Barnaby showed me that one.” She nodded at the one I’d been admiring.
“I only recommend you the best.” There was a warmth in his voice that didn’t seem to match him at all.
When Maisie smiled at him, I noticed the briefest bit of fang sticking out. Was she a vampire too?
“You like them?” she asked, poking one with her finger.
“Oh, yes, they’re nice,” I said.
“Right? So cool.”
I would never think of having fangs as cool, but to each their own, I supposed.
“Barnaby,” Brooks greeted as he approached with a large tome in his hands.
“Brooks, nice to see you. I haven’t been around the farm in a while.”
“I noticed. No need for cow’s blood anymore, I see.”
Barnaby looked at Maisie lovingly. “Not anymore.” He looked at me. “Is this your new partner?”
I felt my face heat, and Brooks choked, coughing heavily before composing himself. Maisie laughed behind her hand.
“No,” I affirmed. “I’m the organic auditor.”
“I see,” Barnaby said. “Well, I hope that goes smoothly for them. We wouldn’t want any problems.”
That felt slightly like a threat, but I shrugged it off, especially when Maisie bumped him and told him to stop being rude.
“Are you ready?” I asked Brooks, who still looked somewhat taken aback.
“Yeah. I got this space odyssey that looks cool.” I looked at the book. It wasn’t something I would normally pick, but it had a nice cover.
We went to the counter, and Maisie rang us up. “Don’t be a stranger,” she said. “I would love to know what you think of the book.” She tapped the cover of the one I ended up choosing.
“For sure.” I didn’t know if I would have a second to even look at it before I left, but I might come back here before I did. Maisie seemed nice, and so did Barnaby, if a little strange.
We left and continued our walk. There was some construction work going on for what looked like a new shop. It didn’t look to be much yet, but I caught glimpses of shelves and green walls.
Next to it was Rick’s Hardware, and I could see a man walking around with horns and a long snout inside. I assumed he was a minotaur, but I had never met one in person, so I couldn’t be sure.
“Want to stop here?” Brooks asked as we approached. “Gargoyle’s Horde?”
“Sure.” We walked in, and my mouth dropped. Every wall was covered in games, comics, plushies, figurines, and card collections. There were tables in the middle for people to play games if they wanted.
“Hey, Brooks,” the woman behind the counter said. She was pretty, with long brown hair and a short stature. She had kind round eyes that made me feel welcomed.
“Hey, Gwen. This is my auditor, Sydney.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said with a wave.
“What can I help you with?” Gwen asked.
“Just came to say hi. Sydney wanted to see the store.”
“It’s lovely,” I commented, and I meant it. I could spend hours perusing the comic section alone.
“Well, take your time and let me know if you have any questions.”
I nodded and began working my way around. I checked out the comics first before I made it to the games. Though I didn’t play much, I did enjoy strategy games.
When we got to the plushies, they were all super cute, but I spotted one that made me pause. It was a little golden retriever. While I liked dogs, I’d never had one, but when I looked at it, it reminded me of Brooks in a strange way.
“Do you like that one?” he asked.
I jumped and bit my lip as I realized he was behind me. There was no way he could know what I was thinking, but it made me flustered all the same.
“Yeah, it’s cute.”
He picked it up and looked at it, and this time I couldn’t help the giggle that left me. “What are you doing?”
“We’re getting it, aren’t we?”
“We don’t have to,” I said. “I just thought it was cute.”
“Well, that’s a good enough reason for me.”
“You really need to stop buying me stuff. People might get the wrong impression.”
“I don’t care what others think. Only what you do.”
He took it over to the counter, and I was left there with warm cheeks.
We left after that. I felt like I was seeing lots of pieces to lots of people’s lives that I usually wouldn’t. In the city, things tended to stay private, and people kept to themselves. I didn’t even know my neighbor’s name, much less what they looked like. I knew next to nothing about my co-workers. Even Matilda, who I just shared a four-hour drive with… I didn’t even know her birthday.
Yet in Hallow’s Cove I felt like I wanted to know people, and everyone seemed interested in getting to know me. It wasn’t something I’d ever experienced before, but I found that I might enjoy it a little.
We made it back to the truck and drove back down to the farm. The sun was closer to setting than I realized, and looking at the clock, it was already almost four.
We’d wasted almost an entire day, and I had that sinking feeling like I’d done something wrong. I always tried to be on top of my work, to excel at what I did, but it felt easy to get distracted by things here.
And by the man who went out of his way to show me everything.
We pulled back up to his house and took everything inside. I realized we had picked up a lot, but I packed light, so I thought it would fit in my suitcase.
I went back to the spare room to change into the clothes we got. The jeans were worn and slightly large, and the flannel was so big I had to tie it at the bottom instead of just buttoning it.
Thinking about being in a field made me realize I should probably put my hair up, so I did just that with a claw clip.
I picked up my camera and my tablet, along with the sample bag, and went to the living room.
“I’m ready,” I said.
When I came around the corner and made eye contact with Brooks, his mouth hung open, and he dropped the granola bar he was eating. It went down with a thud, and crumbs flew across the tile floor.
What the hell was that?
“S-sorry,” he stuttered. He reached around for the broom and swept it all up, tossing it into the garbage. “Let’s go.”
I followed him out the door and back into his truck. He took us to a field that looked to be filled with corn. It wasn’t very high yet, but the green stalks had started to sprout.
It was beautiful out here. Flat land for miles and the mountain reaching to the sky above in the backdrop.
Brooks followed me around as I took pictures and samples. At some point, he left to grab Chicken from the coop, and I stayed back to finish up. By the time he got back, the sun was setting, and it cast a beautiful evening glow over everything.
Chicken walked around the field a bit, and Brooks followed him. I took out my camera and took some photos of the setting sun and a few of them both. The orange of the sun sat nicely against his hair, and his smile was brighter than those golden beams could ever be.
After we got home that night, he made me dinner, and we both tidied up the kitchen. It was very… domestic, and our silences were never awkward.
Later, when I was curled up in bed with my laptop, I looked at the photos a bit closer, and one thing became abundantly clear.
I had a serious crush on Brooks Hoffman.