A Heart Among Ink and Flames

Part 3

       "Bonjour tous le monde!" a man with a navy blue waistcoat, suit jacket, and trousers shouted exuberantly into the little bookshop. His name was Louis, and he was a frequent visitor of the bookstore, but not because he enjoyed reading, non, it was because he has (for the past few years) an ever encompassing, bottomless adoration for Remy.

        When he spotted Marci standing with Camille, he sauntered over and held his hand out to her, "and who might you be?"

      "Camille, et toi?"

      "Louis," turning his attention to Marci, he asked her if she had seen Remy around.

       "Oui, but you know how he is, never in one place for too long" she replied, a knowing smile on her face. Louis and Marci had also met in the bookshop and they had become fast friends, so she knew exactly the reason why he came to the bookshop every day.

       "Merci, and nice to meet you" he nodded towards Camille.

        As he wound around the stacks of shelves searching for Remy, one can't help but take in the knick knacks and trinkets that have acquired upon the shelves for the unknowable decades and years that the bookshop has been standing. There were black and white photographs, with dates that started in 1889; even today, Louis doesn't know if they are originals.

       There are also mystifying watches, hourglasses, clocks, and maps that did exactly opposite of what they were supposed to do. Clocks and watches ticked backwards, while the sand in the hourglass floated back up instead of drifting down, and the map pointed to directions that went right off the page. Journals and papers with beguiling handwritten calligraphy were appointed to real people, but the contents told of events that never occured.

      If Louis was being honest, he didn't particularly care or like looking at the artifacts, they made him feel insignificant; when he died, would he just end up on a lonely shelf with the occasional passerby looking? He hoped not.

      As he hurriedly made his way past the shelves, he saw a patch of brown hair sticking up behind a book. He grinned, Remy.

      "Boo!" he bellowed from behind the shelf.

      "Hello Louis" Remy said, despairingly unfazed.

      "You're no fun" he pouted, "I don't think I have ever seen you show any surprised emotion since I have been coming here all these years" wanting you, he wanted to add.

      "Maybe someday you will," Remy replied, finally putting down that absolutely monstrous novel he had been reading.

      "So, what are you reading?"

      "You know what I'm reading, I've been reading it for the last month and you've asked me the same question for a month."

      "I fell on the cobblestone steps, memory's a little fuzzy," Louis pestered.

      "You take the bus here, you couldn't of- fine, I'll tell you" he acted defeated. Louis knew that whenever Rem had a chance to talk about books or literature, it didn't take much to get him reciting lists of Shakespeare and whatever rants he had pent-up in the beautiful mind of his.

      It wasn't that Louis was interested in novels or literature, it was just that he loved to watch Rem light up about the things he was passionate about. His eyes would glow and you could better see the gold flecks that could only be spotted if you were exactly five inches away (he had experimented). His mouth would quirk into a smile, and his hands would go absolutely mad, gesturing and expressing more words than what could be said with just the mouth.

     "Okay, I'm reading A la Recherche du Temps Perdu by Proust, it's one of the largest books in the world and is split into seven volumes that weighs in at exactly 4,215 pages. Since this bookshop sadly won't let me take it home, I'm only about a quarter of the way done," he finished, giving the bookshop a glare.

      "It's about the narrator's search for self discovery, along with the portrayal of France. Of course the characters play a large role in the story, as the author himself calls them, 'giants, immersed in time'" he finished, pausing for breath.

      "How interesting, exactly how I would choose to spend my time; reading a large, dry novel about life and France " Louis remarked, pretending to nod seriously.

      "Oh be quiet" Rem muttered, scrunching up his face and flashing his irresistible brown and gold puppy eyes that he knew Louis couldn't resist.

      "Don't show me those damnable eyes" he cried in insufferable pretend pain,"you're going to kill me!"

      "Then you better listen to my literature and novel rambling," Remy replied triumphantly. 

      They were smiling at each other for a beat too long, until Rem ducked his head down in what Louis hoped was a blush and asked, "are you doing anything tonight?" Louis's eyes must have been as big as saucers because Remy hurriedly finished in "not because I was asking you-I mean, I wasn't not but, okay, what are you doing tonight in a normal sense?" He laughed awkwardly running a hand through his hair.

      "Um nothing?" He said this like it was a question, though it definitely wasn't. "Et toi?" He asked Remy.

      "I might stay late so I can get some extra reading in" He replied, "but other than that, nothing."

      "Oh, genial" Louis said to the awkward silence that had arrived to make its rude awakening, making the space between them seem like a barrier, a tangible object. It had never been this awkward, and it wasn't just today. Lately, they have been making small talk, which Louis already hates, but with Remy it's one-thousand times worse. Usually they can just sit around the bookshop in silence, but it isn't weird or awkward. Instead it feels natural, perfect and beautiful.

      "I better go and see if anyone needs help" Rem muttered with a halfhearted gesture towards the front of the shop. "Au revoir."

      "Bye " Louis said to the empty air.