Chapter 14 #2
She couldn’t resist going inside the bookshop, and the smell instantly wrapped around her when she was through the door.
It was intoxicating. This had been another topic of conversation in her book club, one that came up time and time again.
They were all guilty of being book sniffers; there was something addictive about doing it and right now she was reminded of why she was such a bookworm.
Between the pages she could escape, put herself in a different world far, far away from her usual one.
Howard had joked when they talked about book sniffing that his Kindle didn’t quite have the same effect and had even picked up his device and inhaled while he was on screen, making them all laugh.
She wished he was here now to talk to, to hug hello and watch in his element selling books or talking about books to anyone who was interested.
She walked past the shelves on one side of the shop, the scent of fresh paper fibres, the ink, the glue all used to bind these beautiful books together filling the air.
Dark, wooden shelves lined the walls, all stocked and very neat, a dark wooden counter stood just left of the centre and cosy nooks here and there had cushioned seating.
There was a big rug spread out at the far end in what looked like the children’s corner with low-down shelves and plenty of colourful titles to fill them.
She’d seen the bookshop through the window the first day she came here but actually being inside was something else.
She made her way around the shop. She stopped at the cookery section, then she moved to the romance books, then it was on to the travel section where she found books about Dorset landscapes and Australia’s outback.
She slotted the Dorset book back onto the shelf as the gentle tap-tapping of paws accompanied a golden retriever coming her way.
‘Midas.’ A harried woman with an armful of books came bustling over. ‘Sorry, he’s very friendly and likes to say hello to newcomers.’
Faye had already crouched down to make a fuss of the gorgeous dog. ‘Actually, we’ve already met, haven’t we, boy?’ She noticed his collar, which identified him as a therapy dog. ‘I didn’t know you worked here,’ she said to him.
The woman smiled. ‘Midas here has been helping people for the last year or so. He’s fully certified as a therapy dog.’ She put the books she was carrying in a pile on top of the nearby table.
Faye had heard of therapy dogs – she had a client at the salon whose mother was in a care home and was delighted that a therapy dog had recently taken up residence there too.
‘How old is he?’ Faye fussed Midas round the ears as he looked right into her eyes, trusting, happy with the attention from a stranger.
‘He’s almost ten.’
‘Well, he’s beautiful.’
‘Where did you two meet?’ the woman asked her.
‘On the beach,’ said Faye.
‘Ah, then you must have met Theo.’
‘I did.’ Was she blushing? She hoped not. At least Midas was a good distraction so she didn’t have to look this woman in the eye. ‘He’s very calm and friendly.’
‘Theo?’
Faye laughed. ‘No, Midas.’
‘Well, it’s in his job description.’ The woman neatened the books up into smaller piles on the table. ‘Are you on holiday here?’
‘Did my accent give me away? It just happened in the bakery too.’
‘It’s a bit of a giveaway.’ She slotted a title onto the top shelf near Faye. ‘So what brings you to Driftwick Bay?’
That was a long story. She’d go with an acceptable easy version. ‘My dad is in England visiting his brother not too far from here. I grew up in West Lulworth and I’m staying at my uncle’s caravan there. Free accommodation.’
‘Ideal,’ said the woman.
‘Today I thought I’d come and see more of the bay.’ A sadness washed over her that Howard was no longer here. ‘I run an online book club and one of my members—’
‘Oh my goodness, you’re Faye!’
She hadn’t expected that. ‘Yes, I am.’
‘You cut my son’s hair!’
Now Faye knew she was blushing.
‘I’m Iris, Theo’s mum,’ she said, hand against her chest. ‘And don’t worry, dear, you were young; it would’ve been funny had we not had a family function to attend.
’ But she was laughing now. ‘And you run the Midnight Book Club! Oh well, this is quite splendid. Howard talked about you all the time.’ She seemed to suddenly check herself, adding, ‘Do you know about Howard?’
‘I do. It’s incredibly sad.’
‘It was sudden. We’re all so shocked. He hasn’t lived in the town that long but he’s one of those people who… well, he left his mark – put it that way.’
‘I can understand exactly what you mean.’ She paused. ‘I came here to see the bay but also to pay my respects to Bonnie. Howard brought so much light into a lot of people’s lives with his participation in the book club.’
‘I’ll bet he did. He raved about it, how it was international, under the cover of darkness, all this cloak-and-dagger stuff like he was writing his own book.’ Her remark made them both laugh. ‘Excuse me a second…’ She dashed off to serve another customer.
Faye sat down in a nearby chair to flip through the first few pages of The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.
There were just so many books and not enough time to read them all.
She’d seen the movie of this one, but would love to lose herself in the book.
She knew it would be a tear-jerker, but a powerful story with love at its core.
When Iris came back over, Faye told her how she’d seen the sign saying that the shop was permanently closed.
‘I don’t think Bonnie knew what else to do when Howard died.
But the other day she handed over the key and told me to reopen.
I think she might have felt guilty.’ She added, ‘I’m not opening for the full hours – I can’t manage it all on my own – but I’m so pleased to be back here and I know the customers are happy to see Driftwick Bay Books open again. ’
‘Howard did love his books and this place.’ Faye looked around. The shop had such character and a beauty that was impossible to see unless you came in here for yourself.
But she picked up on something else. ‘Wait a minute, Bonnie is home? She hasn’t gone away?’
Iris, in a bit of a flap, dashed over to help another customer and when she came back to Faye explained that Bonnie was at the cottage; she just wasn’t talking much or letting anyone in. ‘I’m worried about her,’ she said.
Faye could understand it and now rather than worrying about Howard, she was worried about his widow instead. She smiled at Midas who had settled at her feet.
‘Is he bothering you?’ Iris asked.
‘Not at all.’ She went over to the counter, Midas following as if they were lifelong friends. ‘I never had a dog when I was little. I’m enjoying it.’
At the counter she chose a suitable bookmark and paid Iris for the book. There was no sign of Midas’s owner at all and she found herself disappointed. He’d been thirteen when she left the bay, but Theo was a fully grown man now. And a good-looking one at that. Had her teenage crush returned?
She left Iris who had to be really missing Howard given she had a shop to keep tidy and customers to serve on her own, crossed the road, unlocked her bike and, helmet back on, she pedalled back up the hill towards Bonnie’s cottage.
It was a lot harder going up even though the wind was behind her, but she was soon opening the little gate in the middle of the white picket fence and walking towards the front door.
But she felt even worse when after knocking three times she got no answer. Since the scandal broke in Australia, Faye knew what it was like to be hounded, and so in the end she walked away.
Bonnie might not be there, or she might just want to be left alone. And to Bonnie she was nothing but a stranger after all.