Page 38 of Winter Nights at the Bay Bookshop
Hi Lars, my curiosity was piqued aboutAnna and the Snow Dragonas the author’s name wasn’t familiar. Turns out Sigrid Hansen was killed in an accident shortly before the book was released, but I also discovered something fascinating about it. I won’t say more. I’ll let you read the piece for yourself…
Lily
Frowning as I read through what I’d written, I considered not sending it. Would he find it weird that I’d done a follow-up on the book? But I was a bookseller. It was what we did. Before I could overthink it, I pressed send. If Lars had an emotional reaction to the news, he’d be able to do it in the privacy of his own home and he’d have a day away from me tomorrow if he thought I’d overstepped. Had I? No. I couldn’t see how what I’d done would be considered overstepping. If anything, he’d be grateful for the heads up. His little sister’s favourite book would reappear in bookshops next year and be receiving a lot of publicity and that was something he needed time to prepare for.
As I drove home, I thought about the Paperback Pixie. Even though Lars would have stopped working for us long beforeAnna and the Snow Dragonwas reissued next September, I wanted to do something special for him and the memory of his sister. I’d message Eva via her website to see if Bay Books could be involved in any promotional activities and I’d definitely do a display in the shop. I’d also love to donate several copies to the Paperback Pixie to help spread the word about that beautiful story. Maybe they’d identify themselves to us before then. Doubtful, but I’d keep hoping. I could always drop them a direct message suggesting the idea and promising anonymity.
I pictured Lars’s vulnerability as he read the book and wondered what his reaction would have been if I’d hugged him. I’d wanted to and it wasn’t just because I’d wanted to comfort him. There was something about Lars that made me want to be near him, just as it had done from the moment I met him, as though there was some mysterious force pulling us together. Perhaps the same mysterious force that had placed a copy ofAnna and the Snow Dragonon our bookshelves because that seemed to be the only explanation for its appearance. The book was nearly thirty years old. No way would it have been on our shelves for that long without selling, without me seeing it and without it being in our system so some sort of divine intervention had to have placed it there. It was improbable but, as Sherlock Holmes stated in Arthur Conan Doyle’sThe Sign of Four,When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. And I quite liked the idea that some mysterious force might be bringing Lars and me together. Because I liked the idea of Lars and mebeingtogether and I certainly hadn’t expected to feel that way when I’d glared at his CV in my inbox.
20
LARS
A golf brolly and waterproof had done a great job of keeping my top half dry but nothing could save my feet, despite dodging the biggest puddles between the bookshop and car park. I removed my shoes the moment I arrived back at The Lodge and, cringing, peeled off my wet socks. My trousers had soaked up the water and they slapped against my bare ankles as I ran up the stairs. The house was warm thanks to the underfloor heating but I was chilled through and a hot shower would be the best way to warm up quickly.
Had I really cried at work? SpottingAnna and the Snow Dragonon the shelf had thrown me. I’d already felt emotional seeing it and should probably have left it there, but I’d heard Pia’s voice in my head reading the first page and felt compelled to open it to see if I’d remembered the words accurately. I had. And before I knew it, I’d turned the next page, and another, and another. I’d lost track of time. I’d lost track of where I was. In my head, I was in Pia’s bedroom as she cuddled her knitted dragon. She’d wanted a snow dragon like Jónas and Mum and Pabbi had searched the shops but could only find red or green ones. As the fire dragons and earth dragons bullied Jónas, Pia was adamant she didn’t want one of those. Nanna’s friend Hilary loved knitting so Nanna had asked her if she could knit a white dragon for Pia. Hilary hadn’t been able to find a pattern so she’d made it up as she went along and the result was a bit wonky but Pia loved her dragon all the more for its imperfections, saying that, like in the story, differences were to be celebrated. She slept with her snow dragon every night but, as with the book, I had no idea what had happened to it. Might Nanna know?
After preparing and eating my tea, I had a quick check of my emails and spotted one from Lily. Curious, I clicked on the link and read the article about the reissue ofAnna and the Snow Dragonnext year, touched that Lily had taken the time to find out more about the book and the author. I’d definitely want to gift copies of it around Whitsborough Bay in the hope that the children who found them would fall as much in love with the story as my sister had.
I typed in a quick reply.
To: Lily Appleton
From: Lars Jóhannsson
Date: 5 November
RE: Fascinating Discovery
Really appreciate you researching that and sending the link over. Sad news about the author and her husband but great news that the book’s being reissued with sequels. It’s a special read. L
I wanted to say more. I wanted to thank her profusely and tell her how much this really meant to me but I was feeling a bit delicate so best to keep my reply short and to the point. After sending it, I rang Nanna.
‘Sorry, lovey, but I can only spare a couple of minutes,’ she said after we’d greeted each other. ‘I’m meeting Hilary and Geraldine in the residents’ lounge for a beetle drive and a pie and pea supper.’
‘What’s a beetle drive?’
‘You know! I used to play it with you when you were little. You need to be the first to make a beetle. You roll a die and each number corresponds with a part of a beetle but you can’t start until you’ve rolled a six for the body.’
‘And you can’t add the antennae until you’ve got the head,’ I said as it came flooding back to me. ‘Sounds like a fun evening. I won’t keep you long, but I have a random question. Do you remember that book about the dragons which Pia loved –Anna and the Snow Dragon?’
‘Yes. Hilary knitted the dragon from it. Or at least, she tried to.’
‘That’s the one. Do you know what happened to the book or the dragon?’
There was a brief pause. ‘No, sorry. I don’t remember seeing either of them after she passed. Why?’
‘I’ll tell you next time I see you.’
‘I gather they weren’t among Jayne’s things?’
‘No. Have fun at your beetle drive.’
When the call ended, I picked up the remote control and aimlessly flicked through the channels but I wasn’t in the mood for watching TV so I switched it off again with a sigh. I felt restless and didn’t know why. A beer might relax me so I grabbed one from the fridge and took a long glug.
Wandering from room to room, sipping on my beer, I wondered again if I’d made a mistake moving here. The Lodge was still the house of my dreams but I didn’t have the life of my dreams and everything felt out of kilter.
‘But how do I get the life of my dreams?’ I muttered, pausing in the doorway of one of the spare bedrooms and tutting at the unpacked boxes inside.
