Books
Humming quietly to herself, Nellie made her way through the bookshop. It was a small one, not far away from her home, and she didn't know a place that she loved more. Even though she couldn't afford much, she bought herself one book every few months. Albert wasn't happy with it, but allowing her to keep a few pennies after another long week of work was the least he could do – and she had made that very clear to him. It wasn't that he was careful with money when it came to drinking with his friends in the pub.
Choosing a new book was something she thoroughly enjoyed and she liked making lists of possible choices, taking every snippet of information she had about it into consideration, almost just as much as reading the actual book.
She wasn't sure what kind of book she wanted to get this time and she knew that she wouldn't buy a new book for at least a few days, but there weren't many more pleasant ways to spend her time than wandering around in the shop whenever she could.
Greeting the owner of the shop cheerfully and laughing as he playfully rolled his eyes when he saw her again, she moved to the section with romance novels. She felt the urge to surrender herself to a written world of love and passion.
Running her fingers lovingly over the spines of the books, her thoughts wandered back to the man who she had so recently; the mysterious and beautiful Mr. Barker. For some reason, the mere memory of him made her want to read one of those romance books that could let her believe for a few hours that true love actually existed and that there really were people who lived happily ever after.
Mentally adding a book about a kind and handsome man to her little list, she randomly took a few new books from the shelf, beginning to read the summaries on their backs. She was too engrossed in the promising sentences to notice the man who entered the aisle that she was in already.
Only when the man, who was just as lost in the worlds of words as she was, bumped into her, she became aware of his presence.
"Mr. Barker!" she cried when she recognized him, her cheeks flushing as she remembered too well that she had been thinking of him instead of the actual handsome and gentle main character just before she had seen him.
"Mrs. Lovett," he said, greeting her with enthusiasm. "Such a coincidence! I had no idea that you like to read."
"I do," she said, wanting to say that she thought the same of him, but having not enough confidence to actually do so. "It's my favorite way to pass the time when there's no work that needs to be done."
"For me too," he said, his gaze dropping briefly to the book she was holding, "at least, when Lucy isn't home."
The baker sighed inwardly when she heard the other woman's name, not wanting to think of what the Barkers were doing exactly that made it unnecessary for Mr. Barker to want to read a book.
"Have you read that one already?"
Nellie was still wondering about the barber's private life and it took her a moment to realize that he referred to the book on a shelf on the other side of the aisle. It was an adventure story that she had intended to take a look at before the thought of the man she was currently talking to had changed her plans.
"No, I haven't," she said, wishing once more that she had. But the book was the latest part of the series, and it was too expensive for her until it would be discounted once the newest part would be published.
"I have it at home," the barber said, looking lovingly at the book. "The trouble is that I can't find the first part anywhere."
"The first part?" she echoed, for a moment thinking that she was actually lost in a scene from a romance book, because this simply seemed too good to be real. "I... I have it. I bought it years ago."
"You have?" he asked, a look of disbelief on his face that was quickly replaced by one of excitement. "I finished reading the copy of the new part a few days ago; you can read it if you want to. And perhaps, I could..."
"Of course you can borrow it for a while!" she said eagerly, sensing both what he wanted to ask and that he didn't really dare doing so, "and I'd be delighted if I could have yours for a few days."
"As long as you want," he said, the smile that she had grown to cherish appearing on his face. "I can get it for you right now, if you want to?"
"Yes, that would be wonderful," she said, unable to believe her luck. "And I will get the one for you immediately."
Beginning an enthusiastic conversation about the books, the barber and the baker left the shop.
It didn't seem strange to her that Mr. Barker seemed to be just as fond of novels as she was; it only made her like him more now that they turned out to have something like that in common. It seemed as if it was meant to be, as if they were indeed part of a plot instead of real life.
Usually, Nellie never liked it when she had to leave the store without a book, but the idea of sharing books with Mr. Barker was more promising than the prospect of reading the entire collection of the actual shop.