Page 75 of Winter Nights at the Bay Bookshop
‘Granny Blue!’ Lily declared. ‘Happy publication day!’
She crossed the room and embraced her grandparents and I chuckled to myself. She’d evidently been having great fun winding me up this week and I couldn’t believe I’d fallen for it.
Lily called me over and introduced me to them both. George shook my hand and Bluebell hugged me, saying – in a soft Yorkshire accent, no less – that she’d heard great things about me and how delighted she was that Lily had found herself a lovely man. Lily led her away to run through the plans for the evening, leaving me with George, who complimented me on how good the shop was looking.
‘It’s like stepping back in time every time I come in here,’ he said. ‘The same but different. Marcus and Lily have done wonderful things with our dream.’
‘Do you miss it?’
‘I do, but I was ready to step down when I did. It gave me more time to read but, more importantly, it gave me the time and freedom to travel with Bluebell on her promotional tours. I loved being here surrounded by books but I love that wonderful woman even more.’
He gazed affectionately across the room in her direction and, as though sensing his eyes on her, Bluebell turned and smiled lovingly back at him. Lily had told me they’d been together for sixty-five years and married for sixty-three and were still as besotted with each other as they’d ever been. Having spent time with her parents, it was clear they were deeply in love too. It was good to see what that looked like. I barely recalled my own parents being happy together and, while I knew that Nanna and Granddad had enjoyed a strong, loving marriage, I’d never seen it myself with Granddad passing before I was born.
Bluebell opened her handbag and handed Lily a pink candy-striped paper bag. That had to be the strawberry bonbons she always gave Lily. It made me think of the advent calendar Nanna had bought for me at a craft fair when I was little. It had a happy snowman with a robin perched on one of its stick arms and she’d filled the twenty-four pockets with chocolates every single year. When I hit my twenties, I’d told her she didn’t have to keep doing that but she’d said,What difference does age make? You’re still my grandson and it’s a nanna’s prerogative to spoil her grandchild.I’d visited her on Tuesday afternoon on my way back from my lunchtime walk with Lily and she’d presented me with the same calendar full of chocolates in preparation for the first day of the month.
‘How are you enjoying working here?’ George asked me.
‘Loving it. It’s an incredible bookshop you’ve created and it’s a privilege to work here surrounded by books and with someone as amazing as Lily.’
He smiled at me. ‘She’s a special young lady, isn’t she? Bay Books was my dream and Bluebell’s and I’m proud of the legacy we created. Marcus added something extra to it but our Lily came along and sprinkled it with magic dust. She’s the reason it’s still thriving today.’
I was on door duty for the evening, welcoming guests and checking them off on the attendance list, so I excused myself to take my post. Marcus and Shelby arrived with Shelby’s parents, Nora and Maurice, and I was introduced to them. George joined them and they all collected welcome drinks from the counter before settling on the back row where we’d laid out a chair with plenty of space for Marcus to stretch his legs out and keep his crutches by his side.
Nanna arrived with Geraldine and Hilary shortly after. As Lily was still running through things with her grandma, I told Nanna I’d do the introductions at the end of the event. She’d met Bluebell at previous signings but, to my amusement, had insisted that I introduce her as the nanna of Bluebell’s granddaughter’s boyfriend.
Lily had ordered brownies from The Chocolate Pot topped with edible images of Josephine’s new book and cupcakes with the book on them from Carly’s Cupcakes. Once the guests were settled, Flo and Cyndi circulated with a tray of goodies each.
As seven o’clock approached, it was standing room only. Lily had told me earlier that the space didn’t really lend itself to events but they did their best. She’d thought about using The Chocolate Pot instead but had decided that there was something special about launching a book in a bookshop surrounded by books. Looking at the rows of Josephine Forrest fans sitting in front of the bookshelves, I had to agree. It wouldn’t be the same elsewhere.
‘Good evening, everyone!’ Lily declared bang on seven, bringing a hush to the audience. ‘Thank you so much to you all for coming out on a cold November evening to join us in celebration of a very special author, Josephine Forrest.’
She paused for a round of applause and Bluebell, sitting beside the Christmas tree looking relaxed, smiled and waved.
Lily held up her grandma’s book. ‘A Winter of Broken Promisesis Josephine’s thirty-fourth novel and is out today. Thank you to those who’ve already bought the book this evening. We still have plenty of copies available and Josephine will be happy to sign them and have her photo taken with you after our chat. I’ve already read it and it’s completely and utterly wonderful but enough from me. Let’s hear from Josephine Forrest.’
More applause as Lily took a chair beside her grandma and asked her various questions about the story, the research she’d undertaken and about her writing career so far. Bluebell had everyone captivated with a reading, after which questions were invited from the audience. I’d seen Lily chatting to customers in the shop and had always been impressed with her interactions but seeing her tonight as host, she shone. I was so proud of how articulate and confident she was and how, despite being naturally humorous, she kept the spotlight clearly focused on her grandma. Every so often, she glanced across at me and smiled, making my heart leap. Nobody had ever looked at me the way she did and I never wanted it to end.
Casting my gaze around the enraptured audience, the packed bookshelves and the Christmas tree, I had the strongest feeling of being home. It was a cold winter’s night but, right here, I felt the warmth of belonging. I’d fallen in love with Bay Books as a young boy – a love which had been renewed and strengthened over the past six weeks – and the thought of having to leave when Marcus returned to work made me feel queasy. I’d felt so lost after letting go of My Study Hub with no idea what I wanted to do with my future. But I knew now. My future was with Lily and Bay Books. Marcus would be returning in a couple of months and there weren’t any vacancies but I knew how eager Lily was to work with a certain Paperback Pixie. I was sure we’d be able to come to some sort of arrangement when I shared that final secret with her.
* * *
An hour or so later, everyone had gone and Lily and I had folded down the chairs and tables and returned the display tables to their rightful positions.
‘You were amazing tonight,’ I told Lily.
She smiled at me. ‘Granny Blue was amazing, you mean.’
‘She was, but I mean you were. Everything about tonight was spot on – how you laid out the room, the books on the cakes, the questions you asked, working the signing queue to write down the names for dedications…’
‘Years of experience.’
‘You can have years of experience at something and still be rubbish at it. I was chatting to your granddad earlier and he said something that I completely agree with. He said that you’re the reason the bookshop is the success it is today – that he and your grandma left a great legacy behind but you took their dream and sprinkled it with magic dust.’
Tears pricked her eyes. ‘Granddad George really said that?’
‘He did. And you haven’t just sprinkled magic dust on the shop. You’ve sprinkled it on my life too.’
A tear slipped down her cheek.
