Winter Wayhaught

Chapter 26

They stood outside the bookstore. What lay before them in ruins. Blackened entrance, shattered glass, burnt books forsaken on the pavement. Books no one would get to read. Boarded up windows the most pitiful sight. The ground floor had been reduced to a charred shell. The fire service had made the building safe, permitting them to collect any salvageable belongings. Doc hired a van, waiting in the driver's seat with Alice. Waverly was already crying, so was Robin.

Wynonna put an arm round Nicole. "We do this. We go in. We get what we came for. Together."

"Thank you. Don't know if I could have done this on my own."

"You're not on your own. You have us crazy people to help. This isn't the end."

"It feels something is over. No, we go forward."

"Too right, kipper, we go forward."

Waverly glared at her sister. "I wish you wouldn't call her that. It's very rude."

"I quite like it," Nicole offered.

"Fine. But, I'm not calling you it. Robin, if I ever hear you calling Nicole by that name."

"I promise never to call Nicole kipper. I will never mention the name kipper when referring to Nicole. Kipper will not..."

"OK. OK. Very funny."

They entered the store. An eerie silence greeted them along with the stench of burnt paper. Books strewn everywhere, the pulpit barely recognisable, the metal chimney of the wood burner twisted, hanging to one side. Making their way to the first floor, they found Waverly's chair on the fire escape. Nicole smiled. An old friend. It nearly cost her life, yet she was glad to see it again. Glad to have moved it out of reach of the fire.

The door to the flat was open. They entered, the lingering smell of smoke hitting their nostrils. It hung in the air like an unwelcome fart making Nicole cough.

"You OK?" Waverly asked. "Sit down if this gets too much."

"I'm fine. Let's box up, get everything to the van?"

"I'm not sure how much we can save. It might be too damaged by the smoke."

"Take what we can. I could do with a new set of clothes anyway."

They entered the bedroom. The first room to be cleared. Nicole found her phone and Waverly's book. A reminder of the last moments before her world became too hot to handle. The bedroom stripped, they moved through the rest of the flat, working out what to take, what to leave behind.

It took several hours. Doc entertained Alice with an ice cream and a walk in the park. He returned to find most of the boxes in the van ready to be taken to the storage unit Nicole had rented. They decided to leave the furniture. The only piece going with them was that chair. Doc carried it downstairs wondering how Nicole had managed to drag it through a smoked-filled store.

One last look at their home, Nicole closed the door on that part of her life, one she and Waverly had only recently begun sharing, not knowing when, if, they would be back. Waverly was crying again, her writer's heart knowing this would end up in one of her stories.

Robin decided to start his PhD. He had been putting it off, Jeremy telling him to use his time productively while the store was closed. Nicole would continue to pay him for as long as she could. Mavis was in tears when she heard the news. Ever the optimist, she promised to run the café when the bookstore re-opened. Nicole hugged her, hoping that would be a reality. The two newest members of staff were paid off. Just as upset, offering to come in for free to help with the clearing up. Nicole choked back tears, knowing people cared about the bookstore.