44. Chapter 44
The book fair
I wave to the guys at the security desk at Shady Pines as I pass and make my way to the Illumination Ward. When I reach his room, I find it empty.
That’s not unusual. The staff here encourages the guests to get out of their rooms and socialize. It’s one of the biggest differences I’ve noticed from his last home. When I went to visit him in Denver, he was in his room ninety percent of the time.
I backtrack to the nurse’s desk, finding Shirley, one of Gramps’s favorites. She’s a short Latina woman with an easy smile for everyone.
“Hey, Reno. Looking for Arlo?” she asks as soon as she spots me.
“I am. Is he in the puzzle room?” They have lots of different rooms here, including one with board games, one with a pottery wheel and clay, and yet another with various crafts.
But Gramps has recently been drawn to the space filled with jigsaw puzzles.
He’s been working on a huge one of downtown London for the past couple weeks.
One of the nurses explained to me that keeping their minds busy makes them forget to forget, and I like that philosophy. Even if it doesn’t work, it improves their quality of life.
“No, he’s in the gathering room for Juliette’s book fair,” Shirley explains. “You remember where that is?” She points a finger down the hallway to the right.
Book fair?
“Thanks, Shirley. I remember where it is from my tour. ”
The gathering room is a huge space with tons of windows, making it sunny and cheerful. It’s in the main part of Shady Pines, so I head out of the Illumination Ward and round the corner.
The room is buzzing with activity, but I spot her first. Juliette is wearing a black pencil skirt and a red chiffon button-down blouse. Her black heels are chunky and not too high, but they still make her legs look a mile long. And her hair?
Whew! My girl in full-blown librarian mode is a thing of beauty. She’s wearing her red Guess glasses and a prim bun on top of her head. Sexy doesn’t even begin to describe her look.
I missed seeing her getting ready this morning because I had morning skate, but I’m damn sure seeing her now. I wind my way through the tables piled with books of every genre. It’s set up exactly like the old book fairs I remember from elementary school.
People, most of them elderly, are milling about, all with smiles on their faces. My girl is making people happy through books.
I approach but hang back because Juliette is speaking to a tiny woman wearing a pink floral dress and pulling an oxygen tank behind her. She appears to be in her late fifties or early sixties.
“I remember reading these when I was a teenager,” the lady says, tapping on a stack of Harlequin Romance novels. “I used to sneak them out of my mother’s bedside table and read the good parts. You know which parts I mean, don’t you, honey?” The woman cackles and pumps her eyebrows up and down.
Juliette’s responding laugh is happy and genuine. “I know exactly which parts you’re talking about, Ms. Wharton.”
“Hmmm, I think I’ll take these five here,” Ms. Wharton replies. “For nostalgia’s sake.”
“Good choices. The one with the cowboy on the cover is fantastic.” Juliette gathers the books and looks around, smiling brilliantly when she spots me before motioning to someone behind me.
A teen boy jogs up and stops in front of her.
“Gary, can you take Ms. Wharton to check out? Her total is five dollars. And get her one of the Fabio posters. ”
“Yes ma’am,” the skinny kid says eagerly, sounding like he’d cut off his foot if Juliette asked him to.
Gary carries the books and leads the woman to a small register set up in the corner. Juliette turns her attention to me, her smile playful. “Mr. Swain, anything I can help you with? Perhaps a nice Harlequin?”
“You can tell me how you got all this set up and why you didn’t ask for my help.”
She rolls her damn eyes at me. “Because you had to be at the arena this morning. And because I have plenty of help. I’ve recruited the student council from PTF High School, and they get community service hours for it.
” Her lips quirk. “They set up the shelves and tables, so I didn’t do any heavy lifting. ”
She emphasizes those last three words, knowing what I was getting at without me even having to say it. God, I want to touch her, pull her against me and kiss that pretty pink mouth. Maybe give that fine ass a spank or two.
Before I lose my damn mind and do just that, a quiet voice beside us says, “Hi, Juliette.”
My woman turns and hugs the newcomer with enthusiasm. “Annalise! How are you today?”
“Good. You got any Baby-Sitters Club books?” Annalise seems a little shy and shows the features of a young woman—probably in her twenties—with Down syndrome.
“Of course I do. I always bring some for my favorite customer.” Juliette guides the now giggling girl to a table filled with a younger genre of books. I follow along. “I think you were on this one last time, right?” she asks, pointing at one in the middle of the row.
Annalise nods. “I want two.”
“Awesome. I hope you enjoy them. I’ll see you next time, okay?” Once again, Juliette motions for one of the teenagers, a girl this time, and tells her, “Make sure to get Annalise lots of stickers. She likes to decorate her notebooks.”
“Yes, ma’am, Ms. McNamara. Two dollars for the books, right? ”
“Yep, thank you, Kris.”
They leave, and I brush an inconspicuous hand down Juliette’s arm. “How are you able to sell these books for only a dollar? They’re brand new.”
She shrugs. “Most of them are donated, though I buy some of them. I originally planned to give them away for free, but after talking to the activities director, we decided I should charge a small fee. That way it’s more like a real book fair than just another library.
Plus, these people like to feel like they’re…
” She searches for the words. “Real customers out in the real world. They like to know they bought something, and it’s theirs.
Every day, they get their food brought to them.
They get their meds brought to them. Their families buy their clothes.
But this is something they can control, a purchase they choose to make. ”
The affection I feel for this woman grows with every single day, and I make a mental note to make a large donation to the library.
Juliette continues. “I use the money to buy the bookmarks, posters, and stickers that we give away.” She lowers her voice. “And if we check their account and they don’t have money on it, I give them the books anyway.”
Of course she does. Before I do something stupid like dip her back over my arm and kiss the ever living hell out of her, I change the subject. “Have you seen Gramps?”
Juliette touches my arm, setting my skin afire. “He’s over in the spy and military fiction section. He was trying to decide on which Tom Clancy book to get.” She tilts her head. “Over this way.”
I spot him. One of his nurses is hovering nearby, giving him some independence while also making sure he doesn’t wander out the door. I give her a friendly nod before laying a hand on my grandfather’s shoulder. He turns, his face lighting up.
“Reno!”
I love that I’m the one person he always seems to recognize. I know it won’t always be that way, but I try not to think about that day. Live in the moment, and all that jazz .
“What are we looking at here?” I ask.
“Trying to remember if I’ve read this one.” He reads the back of The Hunt for Red October , his forehead wrinkling in concentration. I can feel his frustration.
“You have,” I remind him gently, “But it’s classic Clancy, and you might want a copy for your bookshelf.”
He looks up at me, and his green eyes seem to clear a bit. “We watched the movie too, remember? You were about ten, and we did a whole Jack Ryan marathon.” He laughs. “You ’bout drove your Ma crazy talking like Sean Connery for a month.”
“A great day, comrades. We sail into history,” I quote in my best impression of the Scottish actor.
Gramps looks over at Juliette. “Terrible, right?”
She tuts and shakes her head. “I see why his mother was annoyed.”
I give them fake outrage. “Hey! Why are you two ganging up on me?”
My grandfather laughs like he’s having the best time of his life. He tips the top of his head toward Juliette. “I like this one, Reno. You should ask her out.”
A grin steals across my face as I meet her eyes. “She’s the prettiest woman I’ve ever seen, so maybe I’ll just marry her, Gramps.”
He looks back at Juliette. “At least I taught him something. His flirting game is much better than his Sean Connery.”
“Agreed,” she says with a smirk. “And if he proposes, maybe I’ll say yes.”
For the next five minutes, Juliette helps my grandfather select two more books from an indie author who also writes international espionage. “Make sure to let me know what you think about these, Arlo. I think you’ll really enjoy them.”
“I sure will. They sound like they’ll be right up my alley.”
We walk to the corner, and Juliette goes behind the small counter set up there, digging through a box of rolled up posters. I can’t help but stare at her ass in that skirt .
“Ah, here we go.” She holds up one of them triumphantly. “It’s the movie poster for The Hunt for Red October. I thought it might be a good memory to hang on your wall since you watched it with Reno when he was a kid.”
Gramps looks pleased as punch with his new treasures, and I walk him back to his room. When he starts nodding off, I urge him to take a nap before heading back to the book fair, determined to help Juliette pack up when she’s done.
I watch as she flits around the room like a butterfly, smiling at everyone she meets.
She points out the inspirational and religious section to a lady and then directs an old-timer to a stack of Louis L'Amour westerns. I crack up when a woman who has to be at least ninety asks where the reverse harem romance books are located. But Juliette doesn’t bat an eye.
She’s absolutely in her element. Sidling up to her, I tilt my head down and whisper, “What do I have to do to get you to wear this outfit at home tonight?”
Juliette eyes me up and down appraisingly. “I think a foot rub would do the trick.”
I give her a mischievous smile. “Dream girl, I’ll rub more than your feet.”