Page 65 of Controlled Burn

“Yeah, things are fine. Keith is handling it. Is Carl here yet?”

“I haven’t seen him, but I was trying to make sure I processed all the overnight returns before things get crazy around here.”

“Well, both Giles and I will be at that table by the conference room door selling Vesper library bags and hopefully getting more people to sign up for library cards, so if you need anything, you just let us know.”

“Thanks, Caleb.” She went back to work, and I made my way to the front door. I knew everyone would assume I was opening the doors to let them in, so I quickly slipped out and shut it back behind me.

“Hey, everyone. Thank you all so much for coming to support the Friends of the Library. We’ll be opening the door here any minute. We just have a few last-minute things to take care of. Now, did everyone bring their bag?”

A few people called yes or of course as they held up the bag they’d brought with them, but a few people looked around, confused. Which was perfect because explaining how things would work would give me the perfect excuse to stall without anyone getting annoyed.

“No worries if you don’t have one. We have bags for sale at the front table. So here is the way it works. You can buy individual books if you want, or you can fill a bag for a set dollar amount. The amount depends on the size of the bag, and you can put as many books as you can pack in your bag for that one price. If you have any questions about how much it will cost to fill your bag, you can ask any of the FOTL volunteers. They’ll be wandering around the sales room wearing orange aprons to make it easy for you to spot them. They’re happy to help you in any way possible.

“Now, the one thing they can’t do is tell you if they have a specific book. All the books were either donated by library patrons, or they’re books we decommissioned from the library, but there isn’t a master list, so they have no way of checking—”

I was racking my brain, trying to decide what else I could tell them when the door cracked open slowly, and Keith stuck his head out. “Everything’s ready to go.”

I nodded to let him know I heard and turned back to the group of people waiting to enter. “Okay, it sounds like they’re ready for you.” Excited chatter got much louder as the crowd lurched forward, and I took a step back. Good lord, this was a library book sale, not a Black Friday sale.

“Everyone be nice, and no pushing or shoving. There are plenty of great books in there for everyone.”

A hush fell over the crowd, and they all took a step back. At first, I was surprised my statement had such a calming effect on the crowd, but then I felt a presence behind me. I glanced over my shoulder to see Keith standing there looking all big and grumpy, with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. I’d never thought about having a bouncer for a book sale, but I had to admit he was effective.

I cleared my throat before speaking again. “I’m going to open this door, but y’all need to go in slowly. As I said earlier, if you need a bag, stop by the table just outside the door and see Giles.”

I opened the door and watched as everyone did as told and filed into the library. It didn’t hurt that Keith had stayed and was watching them all go in like he was waiting for one of them to cross some invisible line only he could see.

As soon as they were all inside, I walked up beside him and let out a sigh. “Well, that was kind of insane.”

“Will the whole day be like that?” he asked, a concerned look on his face.

“No, not at all. There are a couple of tables in there that are exempt from the bag sale. Much higher dollar books, along with some album collections and entire sets of some series. The people who get here early are hoping to get something good from those tables. They wanted to get in there first so no one else could grab the best deals. Now that we’ve let that crowd in, it will just be a steady trickle of shoppers the rest of the day.”

“Okay. Do I need to go stand in there and make sure things don’t get out of control?”

“Nah, the FOTL are old hats at this. They know how to keep them under control. One of their members is Sylvia Morton. She was head librarian here for years, and she can keep ‘em in line with no more than a look. Kind of like someone else I know.” I gave him a hip bump, and he grinned down at me, obviously pleased with the comparison.

“I remember Mrs. Morton. She was the nicest, most helpful, scary dragon I ever met.”

“That’s the best description of her I’ve ever heard. When I first started here, it was right after she retired. She’s a legend here at the library, and I was terrified the first time she came in, but she was so nice.”

“I bet she would’ve been a fair but demanding boss.”

I nodded in agreement. On the one hand, I wished she’d waited to retire, and on the other hand, I was so relieved.

“Well, if you think you’re good here, I’m gonna head home and take a nap. I didn’t get much sleep.”

“I’m sorry. You really didn’t have to come up here this morning. But thank you. I don’t really think they would’ve gotten out of control, but having you there helped, and the coffee and pastry is very much appreciated.”

“I didn’t realize Giles would be up here with you, or I would have brought extra.” He shrugged.

“Don’t you worry about that. Giles can find his own Daddy to bring him coffee and pastries.” I brushed another quick kiss over his lips. “I better get to work.”

“Yes, you better. Will I see you later?”

“Absolutely. I’ll let you know when I’m done here.”

“Or you could just come to my house,” he suggested.

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