Page 69 of Of Literature and Lattes
She nodded, and the tight expression in her face loosened. The sight almost broke his heart. She trusted him to “figure this out.” He’d been in town only four months, known his daughter for four months, and she trusted him. As the wonder of the feeling swelled, it crinkled on the edges. Another, darker fear crowded over it. What if I can’t do it? What if I let her down?
With that, he felt it. Clarity and a kick start to take his plans even further that day...
“Change in plans.” Jeremy pulled Becca’s hair into a ponytail, lifted her off the stool, and set her before him. “We’re going to open the shop, sell as much coffee as we can just like we planned, but then we’re going to close early and run some super-special errands. You in?”
“I’m in.”
Upon hitting the store, Jeremy sent a quick email. Then he perched on his desk and left Ryan another voice mail—his sixteenth in nine days.
“I can’t make this right, I know that. But I hope you’ll let me apologize in person again and maybe someday forgive me... I’m sorry, Ryan. What I did... What I have done for a long time...” Jeremy took a deep breath. “I know I keep repeating myself, but please call me back, come to the shop, come back to work, anything... But I’m not pushing. Well, I am. Do it in your own time, when you’re ready... I guess I just want to say I’m here. And I’m sorry, man. And if you want me to stop calling, I will, once you call and tell me that too. Okay, that’s it. I’ll call later.”
He then gave Becca the signal to unlock the doors. While Becca wandered through the tables, clearing, wiping, or simply charming his customers, Jeremy worked the counter, all the while silently begging the old espresso machines to behave. No sunk shots today, he reminded them with each customer.
After all, the machines weren’t going anywhere. Not only did he not have the money to repurchase the La Marzocco, he didn’t want to. Georgia, it seemed, had understood what he had failed to grasp. That while the coffee was important, giving a people a home away from home, a warm place to gather, was more important. And right now, he felt those old machines were a vital part of getting it right. His daughter was too. All morning he’d watched as she worked with enthusiasm and chatted with everyone who walked in the door. His dream wasn’t dead and he wasn’t alone—and as long as those two things stayed true, he thought, he could fight.
When the lull finally hit at one o’clock, he called Becca over. “Go flip the sign.”
She raced to the door and turned the sign to readClosed. We’ll see you tomorrow. Then she sprinted back to her dad.
“Let’s clear off your lunch, wipe down the tables, and get out of here. And grab your school reading list from your backpack too.” At her quizzical expression, he pointed to the bag behind the counter. “Hurry up. Our first stop is the bookshop.”
Hand in hand, they pushed open the door to the Printed Letter Bookshop.
Madeline, who was shelving books in Gardening, bent and addressed Becca first. “Good afternoon. How may I help you?”
Becca held up her list but said nothing.
Jeremy knew she was too embarrassed to speak. “Becca here has a summer reading list, and we hoped you could help us find a few.”
“Of course I can. Would you like to come with me, Becca?”
Becca looked up at her dad.
“You go ahead. I bet Madeline knows all the books on your list.” He returned his focus to Madeline. “While you help her, do you mind if I talk to Claire a minute?”
“Not at all.” Madeline pointed to the back. “She and Janet are in the office.”
He walked back and knocked on the doorjamb. Janet and Claire sat crouched over a single computer.
“Good afternoon, ladies.”
“Jeremy, what brings you here?” Janet rolled her chair away from Claire’s.
“A book club.” He looked between them. “I want to start a book club with your store. I was thinking...” He smiled at Janet. “Actually, your daughter did the thinking and advised me to start one, with the idea that if the bookshop was involved it could gain more traction and include more of the community.”
He perched on the room’s other desk. “We can pick the books together and run it once a month at Andante. I was thinking we could have neat posters announcing it, mention it to customers, maybe send emails if I can grow the coffee shop’s email list... All that stuff and, on book club night, I’d offer free coffee, teas, and baked goods.”
Janet looked to Claire, who nodded. “It’s a smart idea. Count us in.”
“What’s your first book?” Claire asked.
“Ordinarily I’ll go with whatever you all recommend. But first, for reasons of my own, I’d like to start withOf Mice and Men.” He rushed on before either woman could protest. “I know the story has issues, but there are themes of understanding and the human experience in it that...” He dropped his hands to his sides. “Don’t you think it could make for a good discussion?”
Janet and Claire shared a look. Claire gave her another nod and Janet turned to Jeremy. “Isolation, loneliness, and community.”
“Who? Me?” He felt his collarbone heat.
The women laughed.
