Chapter 4: Catching Feelings
Sharon was running Donnelly's one afternoon when a familiar face walked in with whom she could only assume were his children, Nicole and Brandon.
"Hey stranger," said Sharon as Andy walked up to the counter.
"Hey, Sharon," said Andy as he smiled at Sharon.
"What can I help you guys with today?" asked Sharon as she looked down and smiled at Nicole & Brandon.
"I thought I'd drop by this afternoon and bring the kids by to each pick out a book and maybe one for myself too. I finally finished that W.B. Yeats book we talked about last time I was here. It was pretty good. There were some good poems in there. I've been on a bit of a poetry kick lately and thought I'd attempt to find something else to satisfy my craving for poetry," Andy told her.
"Well, alright. These two must be the Nicole and Brandon you've told me so much about," said Sharon as she smiled at all of them.
"Yep. Nicole, Brandon, this is my friend, Sharon. We have a class at school together and Sharon helped me pick out Nicole's birthday present. Wanna say hi?" Andy asked them.
"Hi," said Nicole jovially.
"Hi," said Brandon shyly.
Sharon stooped down to the children's level in front of them and said, "It's nice to finally meet you both."
"It's nice to meet you too," Nicole told her with a smile.
While Brandon hid behind his dad for the moment, Sharon asked Nicole, "Did you like the books your dad got you for your birthday?"
"Oh, yes. I've already finished them," Nicole told her.
"If it's okay with you and your dad, I'd like to show you some more books I think you might like and you can pick one out. Would you like that?" asked Sharon as she stood up.
"Oh, yes. Daddy, can I?" Nicole replied.
"Sure, sweet pea. Go ahead. Brandon and I will go to the picture book section and try to find a book on dinosaurs for him," said Andy to his daughter.
"They're in the children's picture book section. Second shelf on the right," Sharon told Andy before guiding Nicole towards the children's chapter books.
They each helped the children find and choose a book that was relevant to their interests. Brandon chose a picture book about dinosaurs, while Nicole took Sharon's previous recommendation and chose Beezus & Ramona. They each set their books on the wooden counter and Andy took out his wallet and paid for the books.
Sharon returned his change to him and laughed as she said, "Not like last time."
"What happened last time you were here, daddy?" asked Nicole, ever the curious observer.
"Well, when I came in to find your birthday books, the lights went out because of a blackout," Andy explained to her.
"How did you see the books, then?" asked Nicole.
"Sharon was nice enough to light some candles in the bookstore so I could see the books," explained Andy.
"Oh. That's nice," replied Nicole.
"Yeah, it was nice," said Andy as he smiled at Sharon.
Nicole looked between her dad and Sharon as they smiled at each other.
"Do you and my daddy like each other?" asked Nicole curiously.
Sharon and Andy turned away from each other, both blushing and trying not to laugh at Nicole's question given their rocky start in class.
"We're just friends, " Sharon assured Nicole as she came from around the counter and stooped back down to her level.
"Okay," replied Nicole.
"Why don't you and your brother go sit in the bean bag chairs in the children's book section and start reading your books while Daddy talks with Sharon and chooses a book for himself?" Andy suggested.
"Okay. Come on, Brandon. Let's go read our books," Nicole told her little brother.
Brandon followed Nicole back to the children's books section and they each sat on one of the bean bag chairs.
As soon as both kids were out of earshot, Andy laughed awkwardly as he said to Sharon, "I'm so sorry about that."
"Don't worry about it. Children are curious. Ricky must ask me why at least 20 times a day. Emily's more like Nicole. Asks sometimes impertinent questions at the most inopportune times without realizing. It's just their nature. No apology needed," Sharon shook off Andy's apology.
"Alright. Well, thanks for understanding. Shall we head to the poetry section?" asked Andy excitedly.
"You're the first man I've had the experience of seeing this excited about poetry," Sharon commented.
"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Andy a bit gruffly.
"Simmer down. I meant nothing by it, Andy. Just that you seem super excited about poetry and how it's refreshing to see a man interested in poetry," answered Sharon.
"I enjoy it is all. Takes me out of my own head for a while," mentioned Andy.
"What kind of poetry are you looking for today?" asked Sharon.
"I'm not sure. What do you recommend?" asked Andy as he smiled at Sharon.
"Well, if you liked Yeats, I'd suggest maybe some Keats or Whitman. By the way, Nicole has your smile," Sharon told Andy shamelessly.
"Yeah, everybody says that. I think so too," said Andy as he looked over and smiled as he waved at his daughter and son across the room before returning his attention to Sharon who was picking out a couple different poetry books for Andy to look over.
"I'd suggest Leaves of Grass or The Poems of John Keats if you're at all interested in either of those. Just flip through both of those and let me know when you decide and we can ring you up. I'll go entertain Nicole and Brandon for a few minutes while you do that. It's a pretty slow day here, today," Sharon told him.
"Alright, thanks," said Andy as he took the two books from Sharon and began flipping through them.
Meanwhile, Sharon approached Nicole and Brandon in the children's section and bent down to their level before she asked, "Do you two know how to play red light, green light?"
"Yeah! We play it during recess all the time!" exclaimed Brandon unexpectedly.
"Oh, really?" asked Sharon.
"Yeah!" said Brandon, a little quieter this time.
"Well, alright then. Nicole, honey, do you know how to play red light, green light?" asked Sharon as she smiled a friendly smile at the children.
"Yeah," replied Nicole to Sharon.
"Would you like to play a round or two of it with your brother while we wait for your Daddy to choose his book?" asked Sharon.
"Sure," said Nicole.
"Alright. Let me hold onto both of your books for safekeeping and then we can start," Sharon told the children.
The children both handed her their books and Sharon put them on a table before she positioned herself across the room from them as the game began.
While they did that, Andy looked up from his books for a moment and smiled at the scene before him.
Sharon across the room giving them commands for red light, green light, and all three of them smiling.
It made him smile too as he put the John Keats book back for next time and selected Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman to purchase this time.
He stood near the shelves for a few minutes just watching the game play out before he noticed Sharon fall to the ground a few minutes later as both Nicole and Brandon both accidentally crashed into her in their attempts to win the game.
He immediately ran towards Sharon to help her up and she was on the ground laughing.
"Oh my god! Sharon! I'm so sorry! Guys, you need to be more careful while you're playing," Andy told his children.
"Oh, no Andy. It's completely fine. They didn't mean to," Sharon told Andy as he extended his hand to help her up as she continued to laugh.
God her laugh was infectious.
Soon enough, all four of them were laughing for a couple minutes before Sharon regained her composure and asked Andy, "Did you choose one?"
"Yeah. I'm going with some Whitman this time," announced Andy.
"Good choice. Let's get you rung up," said Sharon as she smiled at him over her shoulder as she led the three Flynns to the counter.
After Andy had paid for Leaves of Grass, he stood there smiling at Sharon for a moment before he said, "Thanks. For everything today."
"No problem. I had fun. So, I guess I'll either see you in class or here or maybe we can meet over coffee one night again when we're both free," suggested Sharon.
"I'd like that," said Andy as he begrudgingly tore his gaze away from Sharon and looked at his kids.
Sharon smiled at the doting dad she could clearly see he was and told him, "We're in the Yellow Pages. Feel free to call me at the bookshop and let me know when you're free and we can plan to meet for coffee."
"Alright. Thanks again," Andy shot over his shoulder with a charming smile as his children basically had to drag him out of the bookstore, each with a book in their hand.
As they left the bookstore and Andy drove the three of them back to his bungalow, he was enveloped in thoughts.
They had everything to do with Sharon Raydor
Plus, if he was willing to admit it to himself, not all of them were completely platonic either.
Sharon was an attractive woman his age whose company he enjoyed.
Maybe there was something more to this whole thing than he thought.
After all, she's the one who'd invited him out for coffee this time.
Maybe the feeling was mutual?
Or maybe he'd just caught feelings for one Sharon Raydor.