Page 20 of Accidental Blind Date

“Of course not. The man sounds like Channing Tatum–”

“Better,” I cut her off.

“Better than Channing Tatum. I mean hell, I’d throw my morals and dignity out the window too. So, what now?”

“What do you mean?”

“Are you going to see him again?” she asks.

“It was a onetime thing. We already unmatched on the app,” I say, taking a step forward in line. My mouth waters at the sight of the pastry case. I don’t usually eat sweets for breakfast but right now, I figure why not?

“Did you at least get his phone number?”

“No!” I laugh. “It’s over. That’s it.”

“Well shit,” she says and honestly there is the slightest hint of disappointment in me too. But those were the rules, and I am a rule follower. Most of the time.

After I get back to my car and indulge in a caramel latte and an orange scone, I stop at my house to change before heading to work. I toss the date clothes into my laundry bin before slipping into a mid-length orange and white floral skirt and a white blouse. Then I tie my still curly hair up, apply some moisturizer and lip gloss and head to work.

Boston is a large and busy city, a network of neighborhoods, shopping centers, and downtown areas. Right in the heart of it all, nestled in a stretch of brick businesses, is my shop. Way With Words is a family-owned bookstore. My dad started it with my mom, back when they first got married. After she died, he ran it himself, though I liked to think I helped quite a bit.

The shop was my dad’s heart. It was like my mom was painted into the murals on the walls, pressed into every book. He wanted to be there all the time and so did I. Kai, on the other hand, never cared for it much. At 5 years older than me, he was more concerned about college, girls and making money of his own. Even after our dad died, he didn’t care what happened to the shop. In fact, he’s spent the last several years trying to convince me that we should sell it.

I pull up to the backside of the shop and frown. Speak of the devil. Kai is here, parked in my spot. I drive in a loop and find another spot, one with a meter, and shake my head.

“Hello, hello,” I sing out as I walk inside, the wooden door clanging behind me. I wade through the book displays and back behind the counter, setting my things down. Summer and Tom, my two co-workers, are already there. Tom is on a ladder,fighting with a display and Summer is standing below him, critiquing it.

“Good morning,” I say with a smile.

“Is it?” Tom asks.

“Someone’s in a good mood,” Summer smiles back at me before telling Tom to move the display to the right.

“I am. I had a good night,” I say, rearranging the pen cup near the register.

“So, your date went well?” Summer asks.

“How did you know I was on a date?” I ask. I had told them I needed to leave early, though I didn’t say why.

“Joni came in with her litter of kids,” Tom says. “Hence the reason we are fixing the display. You know those little hamsters can climb walls? I think they might be possessed.”

I giggle at that. Joni has four kids and if I had to guess, they aren’t done.

“Her kids are a bit…energetic,” I say.

“They’re feral,” a voice comes from behind me. My brother appears out of the back, and I smile, though it does pull at my smile a little to see him standing there in a button down and slacks.

Kai works in sales. He went to school for marketing and works remotely for some real estate agency, flipping businesses from mom-and-pop to big box. It’s a crime, if you ask me, diminishing the local scene, but Kai’s brain works in dollar signs. Formal attire means he is working in the area.

“Hey, Kai. Long time no see.”

“Yeah well I’m a busy man, Libbs. Making money is time consuming.”

“I’m sure it is,” I say, grabbing a box of new books and heading to the shelves.

“Aren’t you going to ask why I’m here?” he asks, raising his voice instead of following me.

“I assumed you were going to tell me either way.”