Six Ways to One Day

Chapter 8

Sitting in your home office, you look up at the wall calendar and count the days until you have to go back to work. Four days. Just four days left of your summer. To your relief, you find out that the administration has indeed hired a replacement for Janet and that you and your English department colleagues won't have to carry the extra load. When you received your class assignments last week, you were happy to see that things didn't change much from the previous year. You were slated to teach all the same classes and felt good about not having to reinvent the wheel when it came to lesson plans and related activities.

The rest of your summer went by without any issues. Amanda did okay after Charlie abruptly ended their short but intense tryst with her. The past two weeks, you and your friends made a point to touch base with Amanda daily. It wasn't discussed nor planned. Everyone just understood what she needed and did it without prompting. So, when you spoke with her a couple of nights ago, Amanda sounded like her old self again.

Today, the plan is for you and Judy to grab lunch together. Unfortunately, the other three ladies were previously engaged and couldn't come with you. When you are done with checking your work email, you get ready to go out and meet Judy. The plan is to meet her, in an hour, at Origins, which is one of your favorite restaurants; their specialty being French-Thai fusion. The place is located right on the main thoroughfare of the suburbs, and you love the area.

Looking to do some window, or maybe some actual shopping, you decide to head out now. There is a small secondhand bookstore called Beloved, on the main street where the restaurant is, and you plan to visit it. The outside of the bookstore is understated, but when you step through the doors, it's as if you've been teleported into some fairy land's library. There are built-in wooden bookshelves that span two stories and there is a spiral staircase that brings you to the second floor, so that you can get to the books on the higher level. There are wooden ladders on a track that you can move around the walls if you need to climb to get a book that is out of reach. On the ground floor, there are bookshelves that create cozy aisles, where one can easily get lost in. There are small reading nooks, and free coffee or tea. You've spent hours there, browsing the bookshelves, or simply sitting and reading. Looking forward to it, you get in your car and head out.

By the time you find parking on the street, you only have a little over half an hour to spend in the bookstore. When you walk in, a small bell above the door chimes to let the staff know that a customer has entered the premises. Today, you're greeted by one of the regular staff, Wyatt. He says, "Hi there. Haven't seen you around lately. How have you been?"

You reply, "Hi, Wyatt. This summer went by too fast for my liking. How have you been?"

"Great. I can't complain."

Wyatt looks like he is in his mid-twenties. He has very dark brown eyes and smooth skin the color of maple syrup. He is tall and naturally muscular. Your favorite thing about Wyatt is the dimples on his cheeks. When he smiles deeply enough, they appear, right at the corners of his mouth, giving him a playful and mischievous look.

You exchange a few more pleasantries with Wyatt and he says, "Okay, I'll be at the counter, so if you need me, just give a holler."

Giving him your thumbs up, you reply, "You got it."

You've always loved the feel of books under your fingertips. You walk up and down the narrow aisles, running your hand over the spines of the books. Slowly moseying over to the romance section, you peruse both the contemporary and much older stories. You see one of your favorite books, hardcover, but well-loved and read, sitting on the shelf. You reach for it and slide it out from between two other books.

The hardcover book appears to be bound in red leather and it is decorated with gilded filigree. In the front cover, also inlayed with embossed gold letters, the title of the book is written in beautiful calligraphy. It reads, Sense and Sensibility. You open up the book and find that the pages have been oxidized and have a comforting patina around the edges. You flip to the page with date of publication and see that it was published exactly a hundred years ago.