Chapter 5 #2
After everyone else left, Finn walked toward the back of the store instead of leaving. Ollie was in the reading nook near the damaged section, surrounded by stacks of water-damaged books. He sat cross-legged on the floor, a notebook open beside him, carefully examining each volume and making notes.
“You don’t have to stay,” Ollie said without looking up. “I’m fine on my own.”
“I’m not in a hurry,” Finn replied, stepping closer. “And I wanted to make sure you’re okay before I take off.”
Ollie nodded, still not meeting his eyes.
“I’m just peachy. Every time I think things can’t possibly get worse, something else happens.
I have all these books that will have to be thrown out after I inventory them, the building is disintegrating around me, and now my parents are talking about cutting their losses. ”
The bitter edge in his voice was new. Without thinking about it, Finn moved to sit on the floor across from Ollie, careful not to disturb the organized chaos of books.
“It’s not disintegrating,” he said gently. “It’s a mess, but fixable.”
Ollie looked up then, his eyes red-rimmed behind his glasses. “Is it though? Because from where I’m sitting, it looks like the universe is sending a pretty clear message about the viability of small-town bookstores in the digital age.”
“The universe doesn’t send messages via washing machines,” Finn said firmly. “This is bad luck, not a cosmic verdict.”
A ghost of a smile touched Ollie’s lips. “That’s surprisingly poetic.”
“I contain multitudes,” Finn deadpanned.
“Whitman. Nice reference.” Ollie set down the book he’d been examining and sighed deeply. “I’m sorry you had to witness my meltdown today. Not very mature of me.”
“It’s not as if you don’t have a reason,” Finn pointed out. “Besides, your friend and mine are getting married, and I wound up here because you called them for help after hours. I’m not sure there’s such a thing as strictly professional.”
Ollie looked at him curiously. “Maybe you’re right.” He paused, then added, “You’re very hard to read, Finn O’Riley.”
“I’ve been told that before,” Finn admitted. “Brooklyn says I’d make a fortune in poker.”
“Smart kid,” Ollie said with genuine fondness. “How is she, by the way? Still hoping to grow up to be the next Margaret Lowman?”
The fact that Ollie remembered details about his daughter despite his own overwhelming problems was sweet. Brooklyn had always been interested in science, and from a young age, she’d been determined to save the earth from the damage humans were causing.
“She’s… I’m not entirely sure, to be honest. Something’s bothering her, but she’s not ready to talk about it.”
“Sounds like the classic teenage communication blackout.” Ollie adjusted his glasses. “Give her time. She’ll talk when she’s ready.”
“That’s what I keep telling myself.” Finn hesitated, then added, “It’s hard though. Waiting. Watching someone you care about struggle and not being able to fix it.”
The words hung between them, laden with meaning neither was quite ready to acknowledge directly.
“Yeah, it is.” He gestured to the books around them. “Hence, my very productive cataloging session. I can’t fix the big problem, so I’m trying to deal with anything I can control.”
Finn nodded, understanding the impulse all too well. “Need help?”
Ollie blinked in surprise. “You want to help catalog damaged books? On your own time? When you could be, I don’t know, doing literally anything else?”
“I’m offering, aren’t I?” Finn reached for a nearby stack of books. “What’s the system?”
For a moment, Ollie just stared at him. “Thanks. It’s probably for the best that I’m not sitting here alone, wallowing in self-pity.”
“It’s not as if you don’t have a reason to be upset.” He didn’t miss the way Ollie’s breath caught when Finn gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. If it wasn’t highly inappropriate, he’d have given in to his urge to hug Ollie and tell him he’d find a way through this mess.
He listened as Ollie explained what the insurance company needed. He expected Ollie to chatter while they worked, but he was silent, other than an occasional sniffle. It broke Finn’s heart to see him so defeated. It startled him when Ollie broke the silence.
“My parents are talking about selling.”
Finn looked up. “The store?”
Ollie nodded, not meeting his eyes. “They’ve been considering it for a while, actually.
Even before all this.” He gestured vaguely upward.
“Business has been challenging. , ebooks, the economy—take your pick of retail villains to independent bookstores. Add in the fact that everything Maple Hill’s done to revitalize has driven up property taxes, and I think they’re hoping the money they’d get from selling the building would allow them to retire. It makes sense, but it still sucks.”
“I didn’t realize things were that difficult,” Finn said carefully.
“We don’t advertise it.” Ollie’s laugh held no humor. “Bad for business, you know? ‘Come shop at the slowly failing bookstore! Browse our selection with a side of financial anxiety and quiet desperation!’”
Finn set down the book he’d been examining. “What do you want to do?”
Ollie looked up, surprise flickering across his face. “What do I want?”
“Yes. Not your parents, not the insurance company. You.” Finn adjusted a stack of books that was perilously close to toppling. “You talk a lot about your parents when it comes to this place, but you’ve poured your heart and soul into it as well. Do you think it’s a lost cause?”
Ollie’s hands stilled on the book in his lap.
“I want to save it,” he said finally, his voice barely audible.
“I want to stay open. Indie bookstores are making a comeback. A lot of them are focused on particular genres, but I don’t know if I’d want to go that far.
I think there’s a lot we could do just by strategically rearranging the store and inviting people in.
I know it’s probably stupid, and definitely impractical, but this place is… It’s more than just a store to me.”
“It’s home,” Finn supplied quietly.
Ollie’s eyes met his, wide with recognition.
“Yes. Exactly. It’s where I learned to read, where I hid when high school was too much, where I figured out who I was.
” He gestured around them. “These stories saved me, in a way. And I’ve always felt like I owed it to them to keep this place going.
To make sure other people could find what they needed here too. ”
“That’s not stupid,” Finn said firmly. “Not at all.”
“No?” Ollie’s smile was small but genuine. “Because from a purely business perspective, it’s pretty indefensible. We’re barely breaking even most months. And now this—” He waved toward the ceiling. “It feels like the universe is sending a pretty clear message.”
“I thought we established the universe doesn’t communicate via plumbing failures,” Finn reminded him, earning another small smile.
“Right. My mistake.” Ollie sighed, removing his glasses to rub his eyes. “It’s just that my parents have worked so hard. This place was supposed to be their retirement plan. And now I’m watching it literally fall apart around me, and there’s nothing I can do.”
Without thinking, Finn reached across the space between them, resting his hand on Ollie’s arm.
“That’s not true,” he said quietly. “There’s plenty you can do. And you don’t have to carry the weight of it on your own.”
Ollie stared at Finn’s hand on his arm, then up at his face. “Don’t I? At the end of the day, this is my family’s problem. Not yours, not the town’s.”
“Problems don’t have to be mine for me to care about them,” Finn said, the words coming easily.
“Or to care about the person facing them. And if there’s one thing this town is good at, it’s being all up in each other’s business.
That can suck at times, but we always take care of our own.
I think you might be surprised to learn how many lives your family has touched. ”
The admission hung between them. Finn started to withdraw his hand, but Ollie caught it, holding it in place.
“Thank you,” he said simply. “For saying that. For being here.”
Finn nodded, suddenly aware of the warmth of Ollie’s skin beneath his palm.
“I know what it’s like,” Finn said quietly, “to feel like everything’s falling apart and you’re the only one who can hold it together. After Holly left, there were days when I wasn’t sure how I was going to manage. Work, Brooklyn, the house—it all felt too big, too much.”
Ollie’s eyes widened slightly. “How did you handle it?”
“One day at a time. Sometimes one hour at a time.” Finn’s thumb moved of its own accord, a small sweep across Ollie’s wrist. “And I learned to ask for help, eventually. Not my strongest skill, I’ll admit.”
“Mine either,” Ollie confessed with a rueful smile. “I’m great at helping others, terrible at accepting it myself.”
“I’ve noticed,” Finn said dryly.
Ollie laughed then, a real laugh that crinkled the corners of his eyes. “That obvious, huh?”
“About as obvious as my control issues, according to Brendan.”
“Your brother’s very perceptive.”
“Don’t tell him that. His ego’s big enough already.”
They smiled at each other across the scattered books, still connected by that single point of contact—Finn’s hand on Ollie’s arm, Ollie’s fingers keeping it there.
“I hate seeing you hurt like this,” Finn said finally. “I wish I could do more.”
Ollie’s expression softened. “You’re doing plenty. More than you know.”
Another loud crack of thunder broke the spell, making them both jump slightly. Ollie’s hand slipped away from Finn’s, and the connection was broken.
“I should probably get back to the office,” Finn said reluctantly, glancing at his watch. “I have a few things I should do before I pick Brooklyn up from school.”
Ollie nodded, replacing his glasses. “Of course. I’m going to finish this cataloging before I lose what’s left of my mind.”
They stood, the movement stilted after sitting on the floor for so long.
“Keaton texted to say he found a remediation team that’ll be here in the morning to take a look. I’ll meet them here,” Finn promised as they walked toward the front of the store. “Get estimates, timeline, everything you’ll need for insurance.”
“Thank you,” Ollie said. “For that, and for… Well, everything this week.”
The earlier storms had slowed to a sprinkle. Finn nearly ran into Ollie when he stopped short at the front door.
“Are you going to be okay?” Finn asked, searching Ollie’s face.
Ollie considered the question seriously, then nodded. “I think so. Eventually. One day at a time, right?”
“Right.” Finn hesitated, then added, “Call if you need anything. Anytime.”
“I might take you up on that,” Ollie said, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “Fair warning.”
“I hope you do,” Finn replied, meaning it more than he could safely express.