Chapter 47
Jack
‘Happy Valentine’s Day!’ Nell shouts.
‘Nice jumper,’ I say, looking at the skull and crossbones sitting on top of what looks like a dissected heart.
‘Thank you. Festive isn’t it? Seeing as we’re both loners for the most romantic day of the year, I thought it was fitting.’ She leans over me, peering at the screen. ‘What you up to?’
‘Just organising the release dates into genres… I thought we could do genre-themed displays depending on the most releases of that month? April is looking pretty cosy crime heavy so… maybe one of those murder mystery nights?’
‘Oooh, nice idea. You going to do it here or…’
‘I thought here first? See how it lands?’
‘I’ll check it out and get the costing up.’
‘Do you mind?’
‘Of course not. I do everything around here anyway,’ she quips even though it’s not technically true. At least not any more.
‘About that… I wanted to talk to you about something.’
Her face falls a touch as she takes in my more serious tone. ‘You’re not going to fire me, are you?’ She laughs but the laughter catches in her throat. ‘You’re not, are you…?’
‘Take a seat.’ She perches on the end of a stool and I drag the other over to face her.
‘Nell, I want you to know that how much I appreciate everything that you’ve done for the shop and for me since, well, since I lost my shit. And as you know things are changing—’
‘Fuck. You are going to fire me, aren’t you?’
‘What? No! I’m offering you the permanent managerial position.’
‘Really?’ Her short black fringe shoots up to her hairline.
‘And… I haven’t worked out all the details yet so it won’t come into play until next year, but I want to introduce a profit-share system… depending on if you want the job or not.’
She taps her bottom lip thoughtfully. ‘Do I get to have multicoloured Post-its?’
I shrug. ‘It’s up to you, you’ll be in charge.’
‘Can I do my speed date with a book night?’
‘Again. It’s up to you.’
She lifts her chin and puts out her hand. ‘Then I accept.’ She shakes my hand then laughs. ‘Oh come here you great baboon!’
‘Baboo—?’ But my question is lost as she’s pulled me into a hug and I’ve currently got a mouthful of her hair.
‘Right. What time is it?’
‘Almost five.’
I grab my coat. ‘I’ll be off then, things to do, places to go, people to see…’
‘Um, Jack? On the subject of people to see…’
‘Hmmm?’
‘I saw Maggie. Last week. At Flicks.’
The mention of her name is like a gut punch. My fingers stumble over the buttons of my jacket.
Nell scratches the top of her head. ‘She looks good. Although her date was a bit weird.’
My stomach hits the floor.
‘Date?’
‘Yeah, short bloke, red in the face… manic smile?’ She shakes her head. ‘The vacuum, you dummy, but you should see your face.’
‘Very funny. How did she…’
‘She’s fine.’
‘Good. That’s good.’
‘Good?’
‘What do you want me to say, Nell? She ended it, and…’
‘Look, all I’m saying is she, well… she’s still single and so are you and… It’s just that you’re doing so much better and maybe it was simply about timing, you know?’
‘You mean if I didn’t have my head up my arse when I was with her?’
‘I wouldn’t put it quite like that but—’
‘Yes, you would.’
‘You’re right. Yes, I would.’
‘I can’t, Nell. She made it clear that she doesn’t want to see me.’
‘I know. And usually I would be one hundred per cent in the girl’s corner and not encourage you in any way to, you know, go against a woman’s clear wishes, but I am also a woman who dates women…’
‘So what are you saying? I should rock up to the cinema with a bunch of roses and beg her to go out with me?’
‘Have you lost your mind? Of course bloody not. But maybe you could… offer an opportunity? Like, I don’t know, mention of a new bookshop opening?’
I shake my head. ‘She wouldn’t be able to. It’ll be too busy and…’
‘Look. I am usually always on team girls, but for some unknown reason, I am always in your corner. And do you know what? Maybe she needs to get her head out of her arse too?’
I take a second, a hesitation. Outside, a loud car horn grabs my attention until I land it back on Nell. ‘If…’ a grin flashes across her face as if she knows what I’m going to say ‘…and it’s a big if… what if she doesn’t come?’
I swallow down a flicker of hope or maybe it’s fear? Part of me wishes she’d never said anything, but in my heart, I know this might be another chance. My only chance.
‘Then at least you know you tried. And come on. What have you got to lose?’
A lorry screams to a halt as I step onto the kerb.
The noise jolts me from my thoughts of Maggie.
I wait for it to move on, fiddling with the silver book on my keychain.
I could send her another postcard. I mean, that’s not too intrusive.
I look to the right, cross the road behind the lorry, opening and shutting the keyring like the start and end to a new chapter.