Paper Girl

"Sherlock Holmes, now that's a man is like to meet," stated a girl with thick glasses. Charlie looked up to see the girl who was always in the bookshop staring at him. She had several books in her arms and was smiling. She nodded at his book choice then disappeared behind the multitude of bookshelves. That girl always appeared whenever he was reading a good book or looking for one but she never stayed for a long chat. Sometime he would catch glimpses of her behind the counter or helping someone with book choices. Charlie couldn't figure out if she worked there or if she lived there. He stretched back, settled back into his chair and got back to reading A Study in Scarlet.

Up front, Grace pushed her glasses up and squinted at her book. The book had the smallest print she had ever seen and she had started reading earlier than most kids. Grace spent most of her time in the bookshop- so much time that she was offered a job there without requesting it. She found peace and joy among the books and knew where everything was. To her right were the mysteries, A-L fiction and sci-fi. To her left were the nonfiction and M-Z fiction. Up the spiral staircase were piles and piles of romance novels and fantasy stories. Grace could be found helping someone find a book, reading behind the front counter or sitting up stairs curled up on a couch reading. And that is how she met Charlie.