Prince on Paper

Chapter 2

The light from the windows shifts from a blue-white to a warmer and more cheerful soft yellow. A few more logs added to the fire has created a wonderful source of heat that fills the entire shop. The long couch to the left of the fireplace is full of cheery women that all sit and gossip while reading the same book and drinking their coffees. They're the same women who sit in the exact same spot in the mornings when they take their daily walks together. Every morning and every Thursday afternoon they're in their spots on the couch. Grand-mére worked hard to create such a community inside the little corner bookshop in Maine. Xander appears beside me and stretches his arms wide while yawning a bit more loudly than necessary.

I roll my eyes while working on packaging a shipment at the front desk. "If you've cleaned the bar down and started the dishwasher you can go."

He grins and runs back to the coffee bar to grab his stuff. I don't bother to follow and check his work. Xander has worked here since Grand-mére ran the shop, he knows what he needs to do before leaving. A loud pop from the fire makes a few of the women gasp and jump before they laugh quietly at their childish fear of the embers. As Xander grabs his backpack and walks back to the front I take the ring of keys and unlock the office for him to grab his coat and snow boots.

"This is for you," He announces, placing a heavy object wrapped in parchment paper on the desk. "An early Christmas present."

I smile. "Thank you, Xander."

Once his boots are pulled on and he's tucked his nicer, indoor shoes into his bag, he stands. I give him a quick hug and am not at all surprised when he returns it with just as much warmth. There's roughly five years of difference between myself and most of the staff here, but I truly think of them all as children of sorts to me. We have a tight knit family here at Prince on Paper, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Xander waves and signs a cross over his body before stepping out into the cold wind. Amanda snorts as she watches him leave, amused at his theatrics no doubt. From where she's paused near me, I can see her arms straining underneath the weight of the books she holds. Arms fully extended, the books stack just over her chin. I don't think she knows how to not work hard. Taking half of the stack, the muscles in her arms relax and she gives me a thankful smile. Together we walk back into the shop to place the books back where they belong. There is hardly ever any major organization going on in the shop as everyone is kind enough to place the books they were looking at back in their section. The books in our arms are all the same, a new shipment that Amanda was working on put on the shelves.

The cover I recognize, it was a popular book for the first month we had it. Full display in the front of the shop and a few signed copies came in. Now it's passed the initial release so the sales have calmed down but the demand is still high. I reckon we get a full shipment of this book alone every two weeks.

Amanda sets her stack down and pulls the step ladder to the spot she needs. "What are your plans for the winter season?" She questions.

I shrug and hand several of the books up to her. "Just the usual, a small party here for some of the regulars."

"Is Cass going to come by?"

Smiling I nod. "Of course she is, she should be coming by tomorrow actually!"

Amanda grins and takes the last of the books I hand up before I have to pick them from her stack on the ground. Cass is one of the most interesting people I've had the pleasure of meeting. Coming from a wealthy family and being one of the smartest people I know, she's exactly how you'd expect her to look. Tall and blonde with a kind face. Currently she was working as a graphic designer which allowed her to travel with her jetsetting mother who could never stay still for long.