Page 107 of Book and Ladder
I blush lightly. Tom does have a way with words and the way he’s looking at me makes me feel beautiful—unlike the way a certain neighbor eyed me only minutes ago. Patrick’s intensity carries into everything, even the way he sizes me up.I shake my head lightly. Why am I thinking about Patrick when I’m here with Tom?
We’re seated near the windows toward the back of the restaurant. It’s dark out, but the twinkle lights across the back patio are on. The hostess lights the tea light in the candle holder and hands us our menus.
“I’m getting the shrimp scampi,” he says, setting his menu aside. “And the house salad. I recommend both.”
I consider my options. I like a man who knows his mind, but I also want to make my own choices.
The waiter comes and I order lasagna and Caesar salad.
“So, how are you?” he asks, leaning back in his chair slightly. “I heard about Moss and Maple and the plans for Home Mart.”
“Yeah.” I sigh. “If you don’t mind, I’d rather not talk about it. It’s sort of all I think about these days. I may have to close shop.” I swallow an unexpected lump and reach for my ice water.
His nod feels thoughtful, but then he says, “Well, physical bookstores are on the decline anyway. The market’s moving digital. It’s almost inevitable that places like Moss and Maple will be a thing of the past before we know it.”
I choke on my ice water, sputtering the sip I just took, then dabbing the table and my face with my napkin.
“I think we might have had a few good years left in us,” I say, wishing we could shift the topic like I’d originally asked.
“Honestly, why fight it? When a business tanks, you have to let it go. You’re smart enough to do something else.”
I don’t even know what to say. Moss and Maple has been the heart of the book-loving community in Waterford.
“Well, as you say, you’d rather not think about it. Focus all of your energy not on fighting the old but on building the new.” Tom smiles across the table at me. “Socrates said that.”
“Are you sure?” I ask. “I thought it was Aristotle.”
I have no idea who said it, but does he—really? How does one man keep all these quotes straight along with their sources?
“Nope. It was Socrates.”
“Hmmm.” I leave my dubious response hanging in the air.
Tom pulls out his phone and asks Siri, “Who said, Focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new?”
Siri dutifully answers, “That was Socrates.”
Tom nods with satisfaction and pockets his phone.
“Lots of people confuse Socrates and Aristotle,” he says. “There’s a lineage there. Socrates taught Plato who taught Aristotle. I use the acronym SPA to remember the order. Well, I did, in college. Of course, I know the difference by now.”
“Of course.”
“Did that sound arrogant?” He seems genuinely concerned.
“A little?” I shrug.
“Sorry. I geek out on the Greeks. What can I say?”
I smile as dutifully as Siri answered.
Tom spends a good portion of our dinner discussing Greek philosophers and then switches to the book he’s reading. He gives me a rundown of the plot and where he thinks the author could have done a better job tightening character motivation and believability.
I’m a good listener. That’s my takeaway from tonight’s dinner.
Tom … not so much.
I miss discussing books with the host ofBurning Through the Pages. We could talk about what we had read for hours and I never felt excluded or looked down upon.
