Chapter 35
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Henry
“Absolutely captivating and emotional. Ta-Nehisi Coates’s The Water Dancer is nothing short of powerful.”
—Lyle’s Staff Pick
Once we closed the store, I headed up to Leo’s office to check in on our sales figures. I told Ella to come with me, but she didn’t want to distract me and make me misread the numbers.
I was utterly exhausted. I’d slowly gotten used to being on my feet for eight hours or more every day, but today was something else. Between all the interviews and hope and fleeting touches with Ella, I was drained.
We told the booksellers they could go home for the night and we’d let them know the results tomorrow morning, but they all refused. They wanted to help deconstruct the fair and find out the results.
There was no doubt in my mind that this store would be okay.
Even if we didn’t necessarily reach our goal, we reached a completely new audience. There were more people in the store this past weekend than there’d been in the past six months. And there would only be more.
All the customers may not have gotten to experience the magic of Leo, but they did get to experience the magic of Ella.
She flurried around the store today, giving recommendations to any customer that wanted one.
She didn’t even need to look up the books; she knew what they were looking for as soon as they asked.
I didn’t want to leave.
My heart was cracking at the thought of it. Not coming up to Leo’s office every day and waiting for Ella to appear. Chatting with David at the info desk or arguing with Jack on where he should shelve.
Ever since I told Ella about the fight I had with Leo, she’d assured me he had long forgiven me.
And at some point, I’d started to believe it.
For the years he and I had, it was a beautiful relationship.
I was ashamed and guilty at throwing it all away, but I couldn’t reflect on that only.
Instead, I would remember how he kept tabs on me and had my picture in his office.
I would read the books he’d left just to see his handwriting in the margins.
The sales reports loaded into my Excel sheet. We had transitioned to a completely electronic form of bookkeeping, since the previous method hadn’t worked out for us. I leaned forward and began studying the screen.
An hour or so later, I finally headed downstairs. I rubbed at my eyes, which burned from staring at the computer for so long. When I got to the main floor, all the lights were off.
I frowned and called out, “Carmella? You still here?”
When I reached the last step, the lights popped on and everyone jumped out from behind tables, info desks, and columns. I staggered back, surprised.
“I couldn’t keep your secret,” Ella said with a smile. “Happy birthday!”
As everyone began singing happy birthday, Jack walked over to me with a white box in his hands. When he approached me, he smirked and said, “And because you let us have these, you get one for your birthday, too.”
My head tilted back in a laugh when I saw the box. He flipped it open to reveal an assortment of Magnolia Bakery cupcakes.
Ella was right behind him and held up a single cupcake with a candle on it.
“I don’t know how old you’re turning, actually,” she said, beaming up at me. “And because I’m a good employee, I didn’t snoop in your file, unlike some people.”
I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. “Carmella, you didn’t have to do this. You didn’t have to throw a party while everyone was waiting for the results just so it was full.”
Ella frowned and, with the candle still lit, turned back to the booksellers. “Why’d everyone stay after tonight?” she asked.
“Henry’s birthday,” Alice responded and everyone nodded in agreement.
“We celebrate everyone’s birthday around here,” Lyle said. “Results can wait, man, it’s your birthday and you didn’t tell any of us. We’ve got to properly celebrate.”
“Your candle’s burning,” Ella said, holding it up to me. “Time to make a wish.”
My eyes burned with unexpected tears. I lifted my glasses to the top of my head, wiping them away.
I couldn’t remember the last birthday I had where it wasn’t just my mom, Charlie, and me all sitting around my mom’s kitchen table.
No cake, no pie. Just a normal dinner where we’d pretend it wasn’t entirely weird that I didn’t want a big celebration.
I think I was trying so hard for years to reject the idea of a family because I knew mine wasn’t the look of a typical one. The loss of my dad hit hard, still does, and a birthday was just a reminder of the family that wasn’t there.
But maybe right here, this was family, like Ella had been saying all along. A dysfunctional one, but a family nonetheless. And for some unknown reason, they had accepted me. After all the penny-pinching and policy changes, they were still here for me.
I held Ella’s steady gaze as I blew out the candle because in all honesty, I only had one wish.
The booksellers clapped after I blew out the candle and began passing around the cupcakes. They gathered around the main info desk, some sitting on the desk, others on the floor.
“Thank you,” I said quietly to Ella. “You don’t know what this means to me.”
“Happy to do it,” Ella said, her voice hoarse. “You deserve to be celebrated, Henry. And you always will be here. Even if you’re not physically here with us … we’ve got your back.”
There was an empty table near main info and Ella and I hopped up, claiming it as our own. I peeled back the wrapper of the cupcake and hummed, assessing it.
“What?” Ella asked. “Don’t tell me you don’t like chocolate.”
“I just realized I’ve never had a cupcake from Magnolia Bakery.”
There was a resounding “WHAT?” from the booksellers.
“No wonder he tried to take it away,” Joey cried. “He wasn’t evil, just ignorant.”
“That explains it,” Mabel said. “Trust me, Henry, once you’ve had one of these, you’ll see the extra expense is worth it.”
“Even if it bankrupts the store,” Ameerah added, garnering a laugh from the crowd.
They all watched carefully as I bit into the cupcake. I plastered on a smile and said, “Wow! Oh man, this is so good.”
They all smiled in relief. “Of course it is,” Jack said, biting into his own. “It’s the best in the city.”
As they all chattered, I leaned over to Ella. “Am I missing something?”
“About what?”
“The cupcakes.”
“So good, right?” she said, chocolate frosting smattered across her upper lip. She took another bite, moaning. “God, I could fuck one of these cupcakes.”
“Amen,” David said.
I tried to hide my confusion as I took another bite, trying to discern what made these cupcakes so special. They were just chocolate cupcakes, but everyone here acted like they were dipped in gold.
Deciding it was best to let the situation go, I said, “Does no one really want to know the results?”
The booksellers fell silent, looking toward Ella. She had grown quiet, picking at the wrapping of her cupcake.
“We’ll be okay no matter what,” she said, her voice more determined than she looked. “I’ll always make sure there’s a spot for you all at this store. Even if some evil billionaire comes in.”
“I’ll probably die here,” Mabel said with a laugh. “Good luck getting rid of me.”
Ella smiled and looked up at me with hope and trust in her eyes, and it was like my rib cage split open and sunlight poured off it, hoping to give her some of it.
I smiled, biting into my cupcake, and said, “I think The Last Page Book Fair should become a yearly thing.”
And Ella’s sigh of pure relief made all the hard months worth it.