February Night

Chapter 13

Several days later, Lucy had attended Miss Willoughby's funeral. Spencer had offered her to join and she had thankfully accepted. There was no way she would have gone there all alone. Much to her surprise, there were a lot people at the funeral. Lucy hadn't been aware that the old woman had known so many people. But it was lovely to see that there were people mourning Miss Willoughby's dead. She had been afraid that there might be only a handful of people. How silly, she thought now.

After the funeral, Lucy had felt more than ever that she belonged into the bookstore. When she was there, she had a feeling as if she could feel Miss Willoughby's presence again. So, Lucy came here every day to open, take care of the store and all the books that were in there. No, she wouldn't just walk away from something she loved. This was her place. She started to feel comfortable again. She wouldn't give it up just like this.

Spencer came to the store whenever he got free time. Sometimes, he even appeared right before he had to go to the bureau and brought Lucy a coffee. It was either a white coffee or a latte macchiato – he still remembered what she drank when they used to meet at Starbucks. It always made Lucy smile when Spencer showed her with little gestures that he cared somehow. It meant a lot to her. She then said thank you and they had a little small talk before he left again.

It was one rainy afternoon, when the door to the bookstore opened. Lucy was the only one in there at this moment and she looked up from the papers she had been working on when she heard the doorbell ring.

A man in his mid-fifties, dressed in a dark blue suit and carrying a briefcase determinedly walked towards the counter. He didn't look like someone who was interested in buying a new book. Lucy stood up. "Good day. May I help you somehow?", she politely greeted him. He placed his briefcase on the counter before he held out a hand.

"Miss Alvez?" Lucy nodded. "My name's Charles O'Hara. I'm Miss Willoughby's lawyer."

"Oh." Lucy let go of his hand again and looked at him in surprise. Why would Miss Willoughby's lawyer make an appearance here? Oh god, was he about to tell her that the bookstore would be sold to some stranger? Lucy swallowed hard.

"You may wonder why I'm here", Mister O'Hara said, as if he could read her mind, and when Lucy nodded, he continued. "Right before her death, Miss Willoughby asked me to write down her last will. And according to that...she bequeaths that bookstore and 30,000 dollars to you."

"Excuse me, what?" Lucy's jaw dropped and she thought something was wrong with her ears. That couldn't be, right? But then, Mister O'Hara repeated his words and Lucy realized that it was true. Miss Willoughby gave her the bookstore, including a huge amount of money! Lucy didn't even have an idea that the old lady had had that much money! It was so overwhelming, she had to sit down. Her head was spinning and she tried to take in the news.

"Wow...you...you mean, that's mine now?", she asked and let her arms circle around her body, pointing at the bookshelves.

"Yes, Miss. That's all yours now. Including the money." A smirk had appeared on Mister O'Hara's lips.

"Oh, my god!", Lucy squealed and covered her mouth with her hands. She couldn't believe what was happening. She was now the owner of a bookshop! Of the shop, she felt so comfortable in! Never in a million years had she thought that Miss Willoughby's death would bring something good out of it. But it seemed like it did, it really did. Although she was excited and overwhelmed, Lucy wondered why Miss Willoughby would give everything to her.

"She told me that she was so thankful for your support here and that she thought you're a lovely person who deserves the world and more. She liked you a lot", Mister O'Hara explained to Lucy.

"Thank you thank you thank you!", Lucy exclaimed and had to fight the urge to hug that man in front of her. He just laughed and then pulled a paper out of his briefcase.

"Here's Miss Willoughby's testament. It proves what I'm saying. Please note your bank account here so we can transfer the money."

Lucy read through the testament more than once and when she could be sure this all wasn't a joke or a dream, she gave the man what he needed before he said his goodbyes. "Good luck with the store, Miss Alvez!", he said and shook her hand, then he left. Before he went out the door, Lucy called him back. He turned around.

"Mister O'Hara, do you...do you know what caused her death?" Lucy wasn't sure she wanted to hear what he would say but she needed to know. She needed to know that there would have been nothing she could have done to save Miss Willoughby.

"She died from a stroke. Even if someone would have been there, she couldn't have been saved." He gave her an encouraging smile before he turned around and was gone.

Lucy kept standing there behind the counter and just stared at the door, through which Mister O'Hara had just disappeared. She felt better now that she knew that nothing could have saved Miss Willoughby. Her thoughts went back to the conversation she just had with this lawyer. Did this just actually happen? She had a hard time believing it. But the paper in her hand told her it was true. Miss Willoughby's last will. Lucy pressed the paper against her chest and a smile appeared on her face.

She was glad that she didn't have any customers here in that moment. Her thoughts were still running wild and she started to think about what she could do with all that money. Well, she could put it into the bookshop. And...with that money, she could finally look for an own apartment. Not that she wouldn't enjoy the time she could spend with her brother, but Lucy felt like she could need something just for herself. Some more privacy. An own home. And she would start looking for an apartment as soon as she'd get home. She knew, it wasn't easy to find something in the city, but she would try at least.

~

Looking for an apartment while working alone at a bookstore wasn't as easy as Lucy had imagined. She was looking through the internet whenever she found the time at work but it happened that there were more customers suddenly than she and Miss Willoughby have had in the past. Of course, Lucy was happy about it but it meant to stay there longer and sometimes, when she got home, she just fell into bed before even having a chance to continue searching for an apartment.