She had tried her best: with Wendy, with Paul, with Hannah. She’d made mistakes as a friend and a mother, of course. Maybe more mistakes than most. But it had never been out of bad intentions.
The weak December sun didn’t warm her, but she felt a little warmer nonetheless, because she finally felt a new truth, felt it inside. She was worth loving as she was, mistakes and flaws notwithstanding, just as Mary was.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t going to get love from the person she wanted it from most. But not only was she worth loving, she knew how to give love, and to give it in an active way. She glanced back toward town, then stood and started walking in that direction, pulling out her phone.
There wasn’t any time to lose.
AFTER AMBER LEFT, Mary continued marking down books and adjusting displays until it was time to open the store. When she unlocked the door, several people were waiting—unusual for a Sunday, except maybe not, since it was the holiday shopping season. She let them in and greeted them, and they began to browse the store.
More people came in. Drew, Ria and their two teenage daughters said they were stopping by after their family’s Sunday brunch. Julie and Earl showed up, too. “I know you said you didn’t need me to work today,” Julie said, “but we’re here to shop, and I can help you if need be.” She looked around the shop, but didn’t mention the sale and store closing signs, which was odd. Mary hadn’t told Julie about what she was doing, of course, but since Julie usually knew everything that went on at the store, she had to be surprised that such a big change had been made without her input.
More people poured in, and when Amber showed up in the middle of that group, Hannah at her side, Mary started to get suspicious. Had Amber told the others what Mary was planning to do?
All of a sudden, Amber nodded at Hannah, who pushed herself up to sit on the counter. Then she scrambled to a kneeling position and waved her arms. “Okay, everyone, are we ready? Who wants to start?”
Oh, no.
“I’ll start,” Julie said, waving a hand. “This is the best job I ever had, and I don’t want the place to close.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” Mary said, looking around to include her other friends in the apology. “It’s all happened rather quickly. You and everyone else will get a nice severance package.”
“You didn’t tell me because you knew I wouldn’t let you do it, right?” Julie asked, ignoring the mention of severance. “And you were right. I won’t let you, if I can help it.”
“I don’t want Lighthouse Lit to close, either,” Trey said. Mary hadn’t even realized he had come in. “I like getting my thrillers here, not online. I like to browse in person.”
A couple of other people chimed in on that one.
“As a college student,” Hannah said, still kneeling on the counter, “I like having a bookstore in town. Sometimes I need a book last minute, and you’re always able to get it quickly.”
“Can I say?” came a kid’s voice. It was Davey, here with his grandfather, who lifted him to perch on the counter beside Hannah.
He was so cute that everyone smiled. “Go ahead,” Hannah said, putting an arm around him to encourage him.
“I like story time!” He got up to his knees, bouncing a little, and Hannah put a hand behind to steady him. “’Cuz it’s okay if we don’t sit still!”
Everyone laughed, and Ferguson leaned on the counter beside Davey. “I like the store, too,” he said, “and my wife really does. She likes to spend our fixed income here.”
That raised more laughter, because it was pretty obvious that Ferguson and his wife had the opposite of a fixed income and could buy anything they wanted.
Mary wanted to thank everyone, but her throat felt too tight.
“Your website is accessible to people with visual impairments,” Drew called from near the windows.
Mary smiled at that. She’d had to learn a few things to make her website more accessible, and she’d had Drew in mind when she’d done it, but it was a help to a lot of other people besides him. She’d done it willingly.
A pang hit her. All that work would be for naught when the store closed down.
A few more people came into the store, and when Mary saw Imogene among them, her heart sank. She just wanted to escape the woman before she did more damage, either to the store or to Mary.
Trey, always alert, moved to the edge of the crowd, phone to his ear. His eyes never left Imogene, and at that point Mary realized that, most likely, Imogene was wanted by the police for vandalizing her store.
Then more people were saying what they liked about the store and pleading with her to remain open. Of course, it warmed her heart. Just having all these people around praising her business was wonderful. She waved a hand until everyone quieted down to listen to her. “You’re all wonderful,” she said. “I can’t thank you enough, but it’s likely that someone will open another bookstore in town.”
“Not the same.”
“It’s you, your touch.”
“We don’t want another bookstore, we want you.”
Mary put her hand to her heart and looked around, and her eyes came to rest on Imogene. Her face was a puzzle as she stared at Mary, a puzzle Mary couldn’t interpret.
The shop door opened again, and this time, a uniformed Pleasant Shores police officer entered. He approached Imogene, who tried to step away, but Trey had come up on the other side of her and blocked her escape.
The slight scuffle drew people’s attention, and Mary took the opportunity to go through the crowd to her stepdaughter. Trey had his hand on one of her arms, and the other officer held
