The book shop was a chaotic jumble but it had a cozy feel. It was an intimate space where friends might meet on Saturdays or lovers sneak a kiss behind the stacks or students find editions long out of print.
As they stepped inside, through the mele of cameras, their hands were tightly entwined but as they crossed the threshold fingers slipped apart as they each navigated the narrow space and soon the lure of treasure called to both of them and they began to rummage.
New bestsellers sat easily with classics at the front.
Tables laden with history books and travelogs vied with hardbacks packed solid with exquisite photographs of the city.
Jill gravitated towards one immediately and opened the cover on a series of artistic photos of Paris. As she flicked the first few pages she found herself led through the delightful jumble of streets in Montmartre, exquisite shopping arcades in the city, the Sacre-Coeur at sunrise. In just those few pages she'd seen enough; Joe would enjoy taking time to peruse the book at leisure.
His love of photography was another hobby he tried to keep hidden, something he wanted to keep for himself.
Acknowledging that she and the family were his favorite subjects she knew that his eye for design would appreciate the images.
Closing the cover she moved on, glancing over her shoulder at Anthony and pointing subtly at the book and then at her husband's back. He understood immediately and smiled knowingly. He'd arrange to have it brought to the desk and purchased discreetly for the first lady as a gift for the president; a reminder of their visit to the city. He figured he could take his time, knowing the couple as he did it was unlikely to be the only purchase they'd make for each other.
As they peered a little deeper into the store the space narrowed and the content shifted from fiction to fact. At the restricted space leading from one room to another, horror and fantasy and science fiction gave way to philosophy, poetry and art, all of which took up huge sections on the left of the narrow space while travel, exploration and current affairs mirrored them on the right.
The display was arranged so that history had an area all to itself; prehistoric, ancient, classical volumes were followed by medieval. The preponderance of writings on that period emphasized by the vast array of titles divided neatly into early, middle and high medieval times ranged along the back wall left to right, culminating in a huge section on early 20th century European history.
Joe had spied that section from the doorway and was intent on making his way there, with a stop in the poetry department on his way.
'I'll catch up with you back there', Jill said, squeezing his arm, her eyes already scanning the newest arrivals.
He leaned down and kissed her, then brushed her hair back gently from her face. 'Enjoy, babe. I'll take the cameras with me and you can look in relative peace', he promised, the look of contentment that settled on her face, reward enough.
Enjoying the moment before the small pool came inside she raised her hand a little and rested it on his shoulder, this time balancing herself as she reached up on tiptoes to kiss him back. 'I appreciate that, Joe', she replied sincerely and his heart skipped as he made his own declaration to her, the words lingering between them as the clatter and noise of the incoming reporters shattered the quiet of the store.
Three recording cameras, two still camera persons and six journalists from the press pool crammed themselves into the small space. Joe eyed the tables stacked with expensive titles. He could visualize them tumbling to the floor in no time within the mele so he made his way to the circulation space in front of the counter to be greeted by the store owner; another of the business folk of Paris whose lives had taken quite the dramatic turn since morning.
