Chapter 6: Outside My Door
Emma woke with a start, looking around her room. Her clock read 8:00am. What was happening?
Then she remembered. Wasn't technology wonderful? Some genius had invented a clock that woke the hearing impaired. It wasn't her favorite thing in the world. She always felt jolted awake. Switching the alarm to off, Emma slid her feet to the floor and walked across the room, opening her blinds. Her room was bathed in sunlight. She looked out the window watching the birds fly about and the trees sway in the wind. "If the birds and trees are whispering words of truth, this day holds great promise," she thought to herself, happy to be out of her funk and hopeful for the day ahead.
Emma showered and readied herself for the day. It wasn't every Saturday that she worked, but twice a month she did go into the bookstore for special events she had planned for the kids. Today they were having a book reading for them. Emma had convinced Carissa and Graham to come in for this reading. They were both gifted, humorous actors when not busy with their day jobs - Carissa was a teacher and Graham worked crunching numbers in some lofty bank position. They had agreed to come in and act the parts of a prince and princess for the day. They planned to read and even act out several of the books that were on display in the bookstore. It was sure to be an amusing and fun day.
As she was headed out the door, she noticed a note on the door that Harper had left. Emma grabbed it and read it on her way out:
Em -
Gone for brunch with someone from work. Have fun today. Catch you later! Only three more days til the concert!
Always - Harper
Emma smiled and stowed the note in her bag. "Three days," she thought, supressing further laughter. "Not that she's been counting or crossing the days off anyway..."
Emma turned her car in the direction of the local bakery. She was picking up several pastries and coffee to bring to the bookstore. No, it wasn't something she was doing just for her friends, it was something they did in the bookstore for their guests to take care of them and thank them for their time.
Upon her arrival, Emma greeted Mr. James and set up the treats on a table off to the side. She then made sure the small corner stage was ready for Carissa and Graham and the children who would be arriving soon before heading to the office to start planning a bit early for the next event.
Several hours later, Graham was in the middle of fighting off a dragon while Carissa was standing atop a chair playing the part of a damsel in distress at the top of a tower as they read through yet another book. The kids were smiling and giggling as they listened. Emma stood in the back with a smile of her own. This was the kind of thing that made her day and made it all worth it, everything she dealt with in grade school all the way up through yesterday. Just having the chance to help bring a smile to child's face and bring a story to life.
After the story time had ended, several of the kids had asked Carissa and Graham for their autograph and a picture with them, which they gladly obliged.
"Something funny, Lane?" Graham teased as he signed to her.
Emma shook her head. "No, no sir," she responded aloud while signing with her hands.
"Yeah, sure," he said with a laugh.
"Just make sure it doesn't go to his head, Princess Carissa," Emma said, directing her comment at Carissa.
They laughed.
"Thank you for doing this and coming by here today," Emma thanked them.
"You're welcome," Carissa replied, giving her a hug.
"It was fun," Graham added.
"I appreciate it. I'll see you later," Emma said as they headed out the door. She closed the bookstore door behind them, locking it. It was Saturday and they closed early on Saturdays and Sundays. The children's event had been from 2pm-5pm, closing time.
Emma turned around, pondering where to begin her clean up. "Props first, then books, then tackle the glitter," she thought to herself. Before she began, however, she put a disc in the sound system and turned the volume up. If there was another type of music that Emma could appreciate, it was that of a guitar. Not just any guitar music though, something with a beat and rhythm that she could get into and feel. She was thankful she'd been introduced to Rodrigo y Gabriela by Anna during one of their visits to the record store. Right now she was certainly enjoying the flamenco guitar rhythm.
As she worked, Emma recalled Carissa wearing the pink scarf she now held and Graham jousting with himself playing both the good prince and the evil prince. She was so appreciative of her friends. They really did make her life a lot brighter and happier. The difference between her time in elementary school and now was that these people actually cared about her. In grade school they'd talk about her, around her, past her. Her friends now, they talked to her, looked directly at her. They'd never know how much she appreciated that. It made it so much easier for her to understand them when they looked directly at her so she could read their lips. "Yup, I've got it made," she thought to herself.
Emma continued cleaning, eventually pulling out the broom to sweep up what she could of the glitter that...well, glittered the floor. That same floor vibrated with the rhythm and beats of the flamenco music coming from the stereo. Emma could feel the music beneath her feet and couldn't help but move with it.
And so she continued cleaning, being the bookstore cleaning gypsy that she imagined she was.
OUT ON THE STREETS OF LEXINGTON
David wandered up and down the streets of downtown Lexington, enjoying the fading sunlight and the shadows it cast on the ground stretched out before him.
It was nice to get out and walk instead of being on the bus, holed up in a hotel room, or chased. The estrogen and hormones that had previously been chasing him in the days prior seemed to have disappeared, thank goodness.
He was on his way to nowhere in particular when he recognized he was close to the bookstore he'd run into the previous day. "I wonder if the princess is in," he thought to himself with a laugh. He still found her entirely intriguing and after seeing her at that piano in the music store, he felt even more drawn to her and her story. "Careful, Cook," he told himself as he walked closer. "Curiosity has been known to kill the cat."
Curiosity didn't stop him though. He reached the bookstore and grasped the door handle to pull it open. When it didn't budge, he looked down, trying a push instead. "Darn doors, never know if you're supposed to push or pull to enter," he mumbled.
Then he noticed it. Open Mon-Fri 9-8, Sat-Sun 9-5.
"Seriously?" he thought as he leaned himself up against the door. He opened his eyes and saw that there was still a light on in the store.
Suddenly more aware, he moved to one of the bigger windows on either side of the doors and peered inside. He couldn't see anything... "Wait..." he thought, seeing something in the air. "Is that a broom?" At that moment, he saw her. "What was her name? What had the clerk said?" he pondered while he watched her. What was she doing? She moved around, her hands moving back and forth, every now and then picking the broom up and plucking her hands around the end of it like...like she was, "Playing guitar?" he questioned aloud. He watched her a bit longer. Yup. She was indeed playing air guitar...or was it broom guitar?
David moved back, a little more out of the way, not wanting to run the chance of scaring her if she saw him staring at her through the window. He wasn't making a venture into the stalker life. He was just in right place at the wrong time, unable to enter the store. He couldn't leave though, she had him intrigued and almost...enchanted. He continued to watch her as she played and danced and cleaned. He laughed every now and then, watching her have her fun. His thoughts alternated from wondering what she was like outside the bookstore and what kind of pain she was holding in. One thing he knew for sure was that she was still as she was the day before...intriguing.
Several minutes later he noticed the lights inside were being turned off. He quickly turned and started walking across the street so as not to appear out of place.
He watched her lock the store up and head to her car. Her small silver car drove to the stop sign at the corner and turned right. As he watched her go, these words escaped his mouth before he had time to consider them... "Hello. Is it me your looking for?" Only it was David passing by her door.
The song he was singing as part of his set on the tour suddenly took new meaning. It said a lot that he was uncertain about for the time being, but it certainly asked some questions he was wondering about as he thought of her. "Emma!" he exclaimed, finally remembering her name.
'Cause I wonder where you are and
I wonder what you do.
Are you somewhere feeling lonely
or is someone loving you
With his hands in his pockets, David hummed "Hello" as he walked down the street back to the hotel he was staying in with Michael, David, and the rest of the crew.
