Page 10 of Check You Out

I nod and parrot back, “Tomorrow at one. Triple C.”

With a nod, she opens the door and slips in without another word. Thelma lets out a loud meow that I can hear through the glass. That cat has some lungs for such a small animal. Charlotte turns, gives me a little wave, and vanishes into the back of the bookstore. Thelma following behind, her meows growing fainter as they recede.

A frown creeps onto my face as the lights come on in the apartment above the bookstore. I shove my hands into my pockets and walk home.

5

Charlotte

With a sigh, I collapse on my ancient IKEA couch in my small apartment above the bookstore. The cushions sigh, likely with pain, as my body melts into the crevices. Thelma is slurping up food in the corner, content now that I’ve fed her. Closing my sore eyes, my mind quiets and the heaviness that comes right before sleep settles onto me. I try not to let the events of the last couple of hours keep me up any longer. If I sleep, then I won’t think about how in the world I’m going to keep my business afloat if I lose a large part of my revenue. I can just let myself escape into oblivion until tomorrow.

Oh fuck, I need to get my contacts out. I’ll just lay here for a few minutes and then take out my contacts.

Who am I kidding? I’m going to fall asleep with my contacts in and get an eye infection.

But before I settle back into my little doze, my phone vibrates on my coffee table, and I’m jerked back awake.

“Fucking shit, what do you want?” I mutter and grab it, fully expecting it to be one of my Hinge matches sending a dick pic or asking me for nudes. I really need to delete that app.

Nicole: You get home ok? Call me when you get home. It’s soooo dead here and I’m bored…

A weak smile creeps up my face.

Nicole answers on the first ring. “When is the wedding?” I hear a loud yell in the background. “Georgie just lost Connections.”

“Wow, it really is quiet. Why are you working?” I ask. Nicole has two jobs. She works at Triple C Café in the mornings, and Little Bennett’s in the evenings.

“It’s fun to help Georgie with The New York Times games. It’s like I’m doing them, only I don’t have to pay for the subscription.” Her voice crackles back through with a long drawl.

Nicole comes from a family of entrepreneurs. Her mom and stepdad own a bar in Rehobeth Beach, and her uncle is the proprietor of Little Bennett’s. It’s been her dream to open a café since we graduated from high school. “Hey can I pick my own maid of honor dress? I’m thinking an emerald dress with a low cut back.”

“You do look great in emerald.” I let my head rest against the back of the couch. “But there won’t be a wedding.”

“Why? Does he like the Red Sox?”

“No, he’s not into me.”

She scoffs. “What makes you think that?”

I tell her about the awkward walk back to my apartment.

“He did walk you home,” Nicole says. “If he didn’t like you, he wouldn’t have done that.” She sighs. “Hold on, Georgie, i before e, except after c.” Georgie’s grumbling comes through the line, and I stifle a chuckle that evolves into a yawn.

I rub the bridge of my nose with my fingers, my movements slowed by my need for sleep. It’s not even that late, barely nine. Normally, I wouldn’t be so tired, but Thelma hawked up a hairball at three in the morning, and then a shipment of books arrived before opening.

It’s also possible that the news of the meeting is wearing me down now I’m home. I’m barely holding onto this bookstore as it is. While I can handle the financial loss if I’m forced to close, I’d be losing my dad’s legacy.

My father’s dream was to open a bookstore, and he used his retirement to purchase this store from the previous owner when I was in high school. I worked on weekends and after school before eventually transitioning to a full-time employee and living in the apartment above once I graduated from college. His dream became my dream. I don’t even know what I would do with my life if I lost the store.

Nicole’s voice comes back with a screech, scattering my thoughts. “Hey, have you taken out your contacts yet?”

“How did you know?” I groan.

“I can hear it in your voice.”

“You know me too fucking well.” I peel myself off the couch and make my way into the bathroom. Thelma glances up as I walk by her, lets out a garbled meow, and goes back to her food.

Nicole chuckles. “How is Miss Thelma?”