“Inga would be pleased. You share her vision. She picked the right person to inherit. I’ll speak to the mayor right away and get this going. I’ll call you.” He stood and reached out his hand.
I stood and shook it. “Inga and I often spoke about our fear the lake would be taken over by developers. I hope she is happy. Thank you, Lucas.”
Georgie and I walked down the hall and out of the office. As we waited for the elevator, she whispered. “You did a good thing. Inga would be proud.”
I wiped away a tear. “I hope so, I miss her. It was the least I could do to keep her dream alive.”
Chapter Twenty
I was tired when I slid my key into the lock of the bookstore’s back door. Friday night can be busy or slow as ice melting in January. Last night made melting ice seem more like a race. Not one soul walked through the door between five and when I turned off the lights at nine. I tossed and turned most of the night, and the alarm went off too early. Here I am again. It’s nine in the morning, and I wonder if I’ll see any customers.
I might as well clean up a little. I have no idea where the dust comes from. I have a large fluffy duster that allows me to get to the back of the shelves and dust off the tops of the books without moving them. I can also telescope it into a longer handle and reach the upper shelves. No sense in dusting twice, so I always start on the top.
I dragged my step stool to the front of one aisle of books. It’s one time I really wished I was taller. I reached as far as I could to get all the dust. Georgie helped me set up a nice book display of new releases on the top of the shelf last week. A few inches taller and a longer reach made it easy for her to set up the books. The opposite is true for me especially since I can’t see the top even with a step stool. I trust my reach and the ability of the duster to catch all the loose dust bunnies.
Everything was going well until I heard a thud. I knocked over one of the books. At least it didn’t fall to the floor. If I reach around, I’ll find it and set it up right again. My fingertips felt the book, but there was no way I could pull it closer or tip it upright.
Now what, Annie? Georgie’s at work and you can’t let it lie up there. It’s Saturday, and you can’t bother someone to come down here just to set a book up that fell over. They’ll put you away. Okay, you can do this. You did it once before. You can do it again.
It’s a good thing the shelves were well made. I took a deep breath and stepped up to the first shelf higher than my step stool. The bookshelf felt a bit rickety, and I kicked out to get a better footing. Another thud, no more like a crash. I knew I kicked over the stool. My fingers gripped the other edge of the shelf, and I was afraid to look down. I couldn’t see where to place my other foot from here. I needed a better view. There was only one thing to do. I pulled with my arms and kicked until I threw my leg over the top of the shelf. My head was about eighteen inches from the ceiling, so I needed to lean forward. I managed to straddle the shelf, but the hard edges were hurting my legs. Okay, I can see down from here. If I move one leg up to the top, I can swing the other to the next shelf down and try to climb down as if it was a ladder. It should work.
I heard a loud knocking on the front window. It was Claudine waving at me with a phone in her hand. She was nodding as she spoke, then took a picture of me as she rushed into the store.
“Don’t worry, Annie. I called 9-1-1. The pic is for the paper.” She laughed as she hurried out. A crowd was forming out front. Lou from the diner came running in telling me not to panic.
Panic, I never thought about panicking. Right now, I’m thinking about killing Claudine. Wrong word. I’d be arrested just for thinking it if Berg read my mind. Oh my goodness gracious, do I hear a siren?
Lou is walking up and down the aisle next to me talking so fast I can’t understand him. He occasionally adds a word of his native Italian, and I know he’s worried. Clark just ran in the front door. I drop my head to the shelf.
Please send them all away. No Clark, no people watching, no sirens. Oh no, it’s a fire truck. They sent a fire truck. I’m going to have to move out of town. I’ll go to Arizona with mom and dad. I have enough money now. I’m rich. The richest woman in town is stuck on top of her bookshelf. What a headline I’ll make. Claudine probably took video.
I begin laughing at my predicament. Could this get any worse? I hear Clark’s voice at my ear. I had to ask. This is worse.
“Annie, are you hurt? Did you hit your head? Why are you laughing? Hang on, the fire rescue are here.”
I turned to look into those deep hazel eyes and whispered, “This would be the ideal time to kill me. A little shove and off I go. Everyone would think I fell.” I began to laugh again as tears filled my eyes. I was losing
