Page 22 of Book and Ladder
I don’t exactly know what M&M is. The last line of her email made me chuckle and grin:I’m quite sure I’ll wholeheartedly disagree with you.
The ease between us surprises me. I’ve never felt a connection like this to anyone in the audience of my show. Answering podcast emails is part of my routine on my daysoff. I’ve rarely had an exchange with a listener that went beyond two or three messages back and forth at a professional level.
Now I pull out my phone whenever I have a free moment, hoping for a response from M&M. And here I am, staring at the coffee shop through the windshield of my car, knowing Cody’s already inside waiting for me, but I’m going to write back to her before I go in, even if it means him questioning me.
Dear M&M,
This week’s episode is about community. I thought I’d swing the pendulum from loneliness to connection. It comes out tomorrow. I hope you’ll be listening. In a nutshell, loneliness can happen in a crowd, and community can impact us even when the members are physically absent. What do you think?
Also, I’m readingThe Lost Bookshopbecause we all need a little magic in our lives—at the very least in our books. And the theme is the importance of finding our own story. I’m still searching for mine.
- BTTP
I pause. Too much self-disclosure? I shake my head and hit send.
She knows me as the host of the podcast, but even there,I never share my name. She’ll never meet me or know me. A pang of something that’s not quite sadness settles over me for a moment. M&M is becoming a friend—and the best kind of friend—one who loves books. But part of the goodness of our relationship lies in the freedom we have because we don’t know one another in real life.
I step into the cool air, pondering the boundaries of our relationship. I’ll take it. I’ve never had this—whatever it is.
The coffee shop is bustling as it usually is on a weekend morning. Families are heading to the soccer fields or out on errands or hikes on local trails. Neighbors and friends catch up after a week of work and responsibilities. And Cody and I are grabbing a quick shot of caffeine before heading separately into our day off.
For better or worse, I’ll be meeting my dad here soon. He wants to talk about what he calledfamily business.
“Back of the line, sir,” Cody jokes to me when I step up next to him. “You see all these fine people who came in and waited to place their orders? You’re behind them.”
I glance at the line, ready to make my apologies.
“Don’t worry about it,” June, one of Waterford’s seniors, says with a smile. “You earn your spot in this line every day.”
Cody leans around me and says, “Not every day, June. Trust me. This guy’s a genuine slacker.”
“Aw hush now, Cody,” she says with a smile. “I heard all about that barn fire. You two are heroes, plain and simple.”
“Thank you,” Cody and I say in unison.
Betty Faye Holt arrives and distracts June into conversation.
Cody starts talking shop. “That fire could have been worse.”
“The barn fire?” I ask.
“That too,” he shakes his head. “I was talking about the electrical short at the gas station this morning.”
“Yeah. Gas station fire? I hope we never have to deal with that.”
The back of my neck prickles, and I turn for no reason, my eyes scanning the shop. Cody’s still talking about the way we assessed the situation and got to the source before things got out of control. I’m listening, but my eyes land on Daisy. I didn’t see her before. She must have walked in while Cody and I were talking to June.
Daisy’s in line a few spots behind June and Betty Faye. She’s clearly listening to every word Cody’s saying.Her eyes flick to mine.
“Eavesdropping?” I say loudly enough for her to hear. “Didn’t your mom teach you not to listen in on other people’s conversations?”
I raise one brow.
“I wasn’t …” she stammers. “I was … Not. You’re a loud talker. If you don’t want people to hear you, you might …” she makes a motion like she’s dialing down a volume knob.
Cody chuckles.
Daisy shoots him a look.
