Every Breath She Takes [CURRENTLY ON HOLD]

Chapter 7: Different Sides

He found the bookstore with no trouble, and was slightly surprised to see that it was open. He went inside, and saw that an older lady was behind the counter. She smiled at him as he walked in.

“Hello, sir,” she said cheerily. “Can I help you?”

“Yeah.” He walked over to her. “I’ve managed to get in touch –”

He couldn’t finish. Her face lightened, and she clasped her hands together. “You’ve spoken to Rökiga? How is she?”

He nodded briefly. “She’s alright, I think,” he replied. “It was only over the phone, but she asked me if I could check up on here. That’s no problem?”

“Oh, no!” She shook her head. “Of course not! I live next door to her, you see,” she confided. “And she’d left me a key to her house, the sweet thing. In case she ever forgot hers, she said.” The woman laughed a little. “Well, I’ve been cleaning that place for her. Do you know where she is?”

He blinked at the sudden question, and shook his head. “Sorry,” he said regretfully. “I don’t. Don’t know how long she’s going to be, either.”

She shrugged. “No matter. If you can, you tell her Mrs Trump’s taking care of her house for her, alright?”

He nodded again. “I will,” he promised. “Now, about the store…”

“Oh, it’s easy,” she breezed. “Don’t worry.” She looked at him from under her lashes, calculating what he was up to. “Now, you’re a busy man, no?” He didn’t have time to answer, and she carried on. “What am I saying? Of course you are. Well, the best days are the weekends, and the weekdays are up to you. You tell me when you can’t make it, and I’ll cover for you. That way there’ll be something for Ro when she gets back. You alright with that plan, young man?”

Slightly overwhelmed, he nodded. “That’s fine. I’m free Tuesdays and Thursdays at the moment, but that might change. Weekends I can come.”

“Good. I’ll do the others. And don’t worry about selling. There’s no trick to it at all.”

He nodded again. “Thank you, Mrs Trump,” he managed to fit in. “I’m sure Ro will really appreciate what you’ve done for her.”

The lady flapped her hand. “Pfft. It’s no trouble. I needed to get out of the house a little anyway, and this is a lovely place. She really knew what she was doing when she redecorated it.”

Looking around, he had to agree. He could remember what the place had been like, all stale and unfriendly, with the walls unpainted, and the floor cold and concrete. Now, the walls were a pale blue, with a feature wall painted deep midnight blue. The concrete had been replaced with warm timber, and the bookshelves complemented the space effortlessly. There were little nooks and crannies for people to find and read a book in, and the few rugs looked to be homemade, and added a warming touch.

“It’s beautiful,” he said, and nodded to Mrs Trump. “If you’re alright there, then…”

She nodded. “I’m fine, young man. You can start tomorrow – it’s Thursday, isn’t it?”

“Yes. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Feeling like he’d just been run over, he walked out. He didn’t quite know what he’d got himself into.