Page 11 of Wish You Were Her
“So, how long have you both worked for George?” her mother asked the two booksellers.
“This is our third summer,” Simon answered. “Mary and Nick come in on the weekends to help, but it’s mostly been us for the last couple of years. We both used to hide here after school.”
“How old are you?”
“Eighteen,” Simon said, answering for Jonah too, who Allegra noticed was facing away from the group and staring into the distance.
“Going to university in September?”
Simon glanced at Jonah, clearly checking in with him and making space for him to join in. When he remained silent, Simon spoke once more for the both of them. “Me, yes, him, no.”
“It’s going to be a hunt to replace Simon,” George said.
The look of surprised delight on Simon’s face made Allegra wonder how often her father praised them for their work.
“I just have to say something,” Simon said, after everyone had eaten a little more of the food. He beamed at Allegra. “It is… surreal to be sat across from you right now.”
Allegra allowed a small, polite smile. People always thoughtthis kind of fawning was enjoyable for her. For a while, maybe it had been. Now it just made her feel panicky.
“She’s just in need of a nice, chill summer,” Roxanne said, with only the tiniest note of reproach in her voice.
“Yes, no leaking Ally’s location, boys,” George said firmly. “She’s here for a break. Leaks will be a sackable offense.”
“Unrelated, but you need to get a mobile phone,” Roxanne told her ex-husband with a disbelieving laugh. “You have been impossible to get hold of these days. You only have the old landline in the shop, and you never answer it. We were praying the voicemails got to you.”
“The boss can’t cope with technology,” Simon interjected. “I even have to do your emails, right, George?”
Allegra smiled at that, while George shrugged and looked at her mother.
“You can always write me a letter, Roxy.”
Allegra watched her mother soften and look away.
“I should probably open the shop back up,” Jonah said, speaking for the first time, his voice deep and detached.
Allegra watched the dark-haired bookseller stalk back into the shop with a touch of dismay. She had tried to be funny about the little social blunder from before but he seemed extremely vexed. His pride was clearly wounded.
“I don’t think I’ve made a very good first impression with him,” she told the rest of the group.
“Oh, don’t worry about Jonah,” Simon said, edging his chair closer to Allegra. “He’s only ever all about books. He’s actually pretty great, you’ll warm to him. Now, I have a million questions about filmingCourt of Bystanders!” He stopped as he read the changing expression on Allegra’s face, her sudden withdrawal at the mention of her job. He changed tactics. “But you’re here for a break, so I’m going to be totally respectful ofthat. So, Allegra Brooks, totally average teenager in Lake Pristine, what’s your favorite book?”
As Jonah reopened the shop he tried to focus on anything other than his visceral embarrassment. He was used to saying the wrong things to the wrong people, but this was one of his worst offenses yet. It had been almost too unbearable, sitting there with everyone who had witnessed it.
Allegra, more than anyone.
At the table he had found his acute embarrassment morphing into complete rudeness. He’d found it difficult to look at her, and it didn’t help to watch Simon turn on his customer service mask. Allegra and her mother were already halfway-charmed.
He busied himself with Simon’s abandoned window display and when a familiar face tapped on the glass with a smile, he gestured for them to come inside.
“Hey, Grace.”
Grace Lancaster, his former classmate and friend from Lake Pristine High. She had recently celebrated her eighteenth birthday and had, after getting a little tipsy on her older brother’s beer, forced Jonah to do karaoke with her. He laughed fondly whenever he heard Stevie Nicks and remembered their terrible duet of “Blue Denim.” She peeked round the door with a hat over her dark curls and a denim jacket covering her dance leotard, and Jonah knew exactly why she had come.
“Is she here yet?” Grace asked. She smiled at Jonah knowingly. He knew she could read his irritation over all of the fuss.
“Who?” Jonah said, playing the fool. “The big movie star?”
“Of course the big movie star,” Grace chastised him, as shefanned herself in the shade of the bookshop. “Is she here? Is she beautiful?”
