b a b y s i t t i n g t h e p r e s i d e n t 's d a u g h t e r

Chapter 7: A Good Day

I never spoke to my uncle much; he was mostly out of the library with errands. Sometimes he showed up for dinner and we would eat quietly, speaking only when he asked about the place. Other times he never showed up for dinner, and I would be forced to make my own dinner.

It wasn't too bad; I had some time for myself lounging in front of the TV and without a care in the world. It was the total silence that freaked me out when I first came to Everton. There was that eerie silence, as if silence had a tone, had a frequency, which rang deep and loud in your ear. And yet, there is no sound to be heard. But I never thought too much about it, the sound from the TV always captured my attention.

Some days went by without my speaking with my uncle, not even a single word! He left before I woke up to set up the bookshop and he returned right after I had fallen asleep. When we saw each other again the next morning, it was like meeting a new person all over again.

It was no wonder that throughout the time spent working for Uncle Winston, I found myself growing fond of Mr. Henderson, a sweet companion. With him around, Everton felt much friendlier. We talked a lot whenever he took a break from reading, and although it was still strange to me whenever he talked as if Emaline was still around, I went along with his charade. After all, there was no harm in simply pretending that Emaline existed when it made him so happy. He must have been truly in love with her that he could not look at any other after her death.

As the days went by, Mr. Henderson became like a grandfather to me, speaking to me lovingly as if I were Horatia, his daughter. Of course, I didn't dare ask where Horatia was and why he only read to Emaline. In his mind, only Emaline existed.

Another constant visitor to the bookstore was Remy, who would sit with Mr. Henderson at the table and would even listen in on Mr. Henderson's gentle reading. I marveled at the way his attention was captured whenever Mr. Henderson read, and before long, I too, became an audience to the book reading.

I found Mr. Henderson's voice to be calm, collected and perfectly peaceful to listen to. He made the book come to life as he read it out loud, as if it were he who wrote the book. In fact, after a chapter was finished, he and Remy would engage in a long discussion about the book, and their thoughts about the characters, their personas, their traits and their roles in the story.

One great classic they discussed I remember so clearly, was the book, The Great Gatsby. I sat listening, as Remy and Mr. Henderson talked animatedly about their thoughts on Jay Gatsby and his struggles. Then they talked about the other characters, discussing them in full length as to how it affected the whole story, bringing up the main theme of corruption that came with money.

I could see Mr. Henderson extremely happy when he found a fellow well-versed reader to discuss his favorite books with and his sweet smile made me much happier that Remy was there to accompany him since I didn't share the same intellect to discuss books with. Of course, it didn't hurt that Remy was also fun to be around and he brought new life to the bookstore. I was strangely drawn to the mystery that shrouded him, especially when he could finish reading massive thick books that he borrowed within a short amount of time. It was as if he lived and breathed the pages of the massive books.

One particular day at the bookstore, Remy came as usual, a brown paper bag in hand, which was dry while he was utterly soaked from the rain. Even with slightly wet hair and a messy look, he still managed to look so handsome. He smiled as he said to me his usual words, "Here, I finished reading it," Remy immediately pulled out a book from the brown paper bag, shaking the large drops of water off his back.

"You read incredibly fast." I said, as I recorded the details into the logbook and put the book back in its original place on the shelves, as he followed from a distance, looking for another book.