Work Text:
The chime above the door brings Ed back to reality after losing himself in yet another book he’d swiped from the historical fiction shelf. The small cozy bookshop wasn’t so much a bookshop as it was his own personal library. He usually tore through a shelf of books a week. As hard as he tried to keep coffee stains off the covers and avoid dog-earing pages, he still ended up buying more books from his own store than he should. He swiftly removes his boots from the counter and shakes himself from the realm in his head, which, thanks to his most recent read was about a pirate who retired to China and became an accountant. Weird book, but good. He sets it under the register for easy access later and looks up to see a woman with bangs and wavy brown hair struggling with a box as she makes her way inside. He jumps up to help but before he can offer to take the box she gives him a look.
“No need, I’ve got it,” and she pushes past him to drop the heavy box on the counter.
Okay, she’s feisty. That’s fun.
“Never said you didn’t, just wanted to help!” Ed smiles warmly at her as he walks back behind the counter.
“I don’t need help carrying this, though I’m hoping eventually you will!” She slaps the side of the box as she cracks a smile, a glint of playfulness in her eyes. “Would you happen to be the owner of this fine establishment?”
“That’d be me, Edward Teach, always a book within reach!” He grabs the book he’d stashed behind the counter to emphasize his point.
“Oh fabulous, and do you by chance stock children’s books?” The woman looks around to take in the shop, tall shelves forming a literary maze, a cozy reading nook in the corner (that Ed uses more than customers).
“Sure do! It’s behind the science fiction section and to the left of the vintage magazines.”
She cranes her neck again to take in as much of the hectic but charming space as possible.
“Quite a wide variety you have here, Mr. Teach!”
Ed has his elevator pitch for his store down pat, and he rattles it off to the woman as she sizes him, and the store, up.
“Variety, the spice of life, eh? I like to mix it up! Used or new, from recipes to rarities. Got a bit of everything. I can pretty much guarantee that if you want it, we have it. From the most popular to the underground. Plus a random assortment of local authors. And of course stuff for the youngins! You lookin’ for a particular book?”
“And what is your guarantee?”
He stares at her, a bit puzzled.
“If you don’t have the book I’m looking for, what is your guarantee?”
Caught off guard by her confidence, he stutters out a stubbornly non-committal response, something along the lines of “well that doesn’t ever happen so I’ve never really thought about it.”
She hums in response and gives him another look.
“So what kind of book are you looking for?”
“I need a book that helps young kids cope with divorce while also dealing with a parent coming out,” she asks, the glint in her eye back.
Ed bluescreens. He has never had such a specific request in his life. He stares at her for way too long, wracking the index of books he carries that lives in his brain. Nothing. He’s never even heard of such a specific book, and he likes to think he’s got a pretty good grasp on books old and new, even kid's books.
“I– man, I think you may have stumped me there... We’ve got the ‘A is for Activist’ baby book? Would that work?”
The woman smiles and shakes her head. “No, needs to be for an older kid, anywhere from 7-14. Something that's lighthearted, sweet, and beautifully illustrated, but also helps children understand that sometimes even adults get it wrong and that being true to who you are is the most important thing you can be.”
Ed’s head swims with the description. If he’d had that book as a kid that would have been a game-changer. Hell, it’d probably be good for him to read now, sometimes he still feels like he’s getting everything wrong. He tries to hide the wave of emotion that rolls over him.
“I… nah, I’m sorry, I don’t have anything like that. But if you’ve got a specific title, I can probably get it ordered for you and have it at the shop pretty soon…”
“I actually don’t think that will be necessary!” the woman says evenly, and opens the box that he’d completely forgotten about. Before he knows what’s happening, she shoves a hardcover book into his hands and backs away with a wink. “I’m just gonna wander around and check out what you have in stock, I’ll be right back!”
Ed looks down at what she’s placed in his hands, a mosaic-style illustration of a rainbow in a storm.
“Beautiful, Broken Pieces”
Ed opens the cover and chuckles at the dedication.
“For my perfectly imperfect family.
To S- The best father, the worst heterosexual.”
His brow furrows as he starts to flip through the book. More captivating mosaic illustrations make up the pages as a story about an imperfect family unfolds. People that technically fit together, that love each other but aren’t happy. A story about someone that is a bit lost. Someone that has hidden themselves for so long, they don’t know how and where they fit anymore. But they start to learn, and they start to accept themselves. Hard decisions are made, but hard decisions are a part of life. And in those moments when things feel like they are breaking apart, they can be put back together with love, hard work, and communication. And sometimes, when things are broken and put back together, they’re even more beautiful than when they started.
Like a mosaic.
Ed doesn’t realize tears are slipping down his cheeks as he comes to the end, a final mosaic illustration of a family sitting together under the same rainbow as the cover, surrounded by beams of sunlight instead of rain. Beautifully fragmented yet wonderfully whole.
“So what did you think?” a voice from another planet startles the living hell out of him, and the book falls from his hands onto the counter.
“FUCK! Give a guy a warning.” Ed swipes at his eyes, trying and failing to conceal the barrage of tears that were flowing unexpectedly.
The woman looks at him, not with pity, but with understanding. A soft smile grazes her lips.
“Yeah, I cried while I was writing it, trust me. I get it.”
Ed blinks the rest of his rapidly drying tears away. What?
“Wait, are you… are you serious?”
She nods. “And did the art too.”
“This is the first print. It’s about my family, actually. My husband. Well, ex. We had a long and bumpy road, but we’re so much better for it now. I think I needed to write this, for myself… For him. For our kids. So they can see how much they’re loved. And understand that we’re all flawed, but we only have this one life, so we have to make the most of it.”
Ed sees the honesty in her eyes. The love, the pain, the relief. The contentedness.
All he can really say right now without fresh tears spilling over is ”Wow.”
“Remember earlier when you said you wanted to help me?”
Ed can’t help the smile that creeps up slowly as he nods. He likes this gal– she’s sharp and funny and sincere. And damn, she can write a story that makes a middle-aged man crumble.
After agreeing to stock 25 copies and see how they sell and insisting she set them up however she’d like in the children’s section, she gives him a tight hug.
“I– I really love the book– I needed this today. Maybe I’ve needed this forever…” Ed admits quietly.
“Hm... I think he’d like you,” she says cryptically.
Then she’s out the door with her box significantly less heavy and a bright smile shining on her face as she waves goodbye, promising to stop in at the end of the week to check on sales. Ed realizes he never even got her name. He looks down at the book.
“Written and Illustrated by Mary Allamby”
Ed finds himself thinking about the story the rest of the day, the simple but beautiful words that perfectly capture how he’s felt before; how he sometimes feels now. He can relate to the imperfect character– (Stede, was it? a terrible fake name). He’s always had strange hobbies and special interests that have isolated him a bit from others, always preferring the company of books and the imaginary worlds that accompanied them. He feels a connection to the character and thinks if they knew each other, they’d be friends. He wonders if “Stede” is happier now that he’s found himself a bit more. Ed wonders too if maybe he looked for himself a bit more, he could be happier.
As the day winds down, Ed decides to take himself to the coffee shop down the block. Roach always makes his mocha a little extra special with some caramel on top, and Ed could use a little pick me up after an unexpectedly emotional day. He strides into the shop with the pirate-turned-accountant book from earlier tucked under his arm and orders his ‘uzhe, plopping himself down in one of the well-worn chairs that fill the shop. He opens his book and dives back in. He’s so engrossed he doesn’t register when a man walks over to him.
“Did you know there’s going to be a sequel?”
For the second time today, Ed drops the book as he curses. “FUCK, what is it today with people startling me while I’m reading?!” he grumbles as he leans down to pick the book up off the floor. Raising his eyes he sees an incredible sight. Golden blonde hair that’s stylishly swooped to one side, a black trenchcoat with the collar turned up, cute silver glasses, and skinny jeans that look to be housing the world’s most incredible calves.
“I– what?”
“For the book!” he gestures excitedly at the book in Ed’s hands. “The author just recently announced they’re writing a sequel that will hopefully be coming out next year, I’m absolutely thrilled! One of my favorites. Always wanted to be a pirate.”
Ed quirks an eyebrow, “Oh yeah? Would you steal a ship and sail it to China?”
The man furrows his brow and tsks,
“No, definitely not, I’d have to get my ship custom-built! I’d need to make sure it had enough shelves to hold all my books and nooks for all my models! Plus don’t even get me started on what I’d need to house my wardrobe! And of course, extra space if the kids ever wanted to visit! My ex hates the ocean but I think the kids would enjoy it!”
Ed laughs at the ridiculous image he’s already constructed in his head of this gorgeous man wandering around the deck of some ornate pirate ship, full to the brim with kitschy knick-knacks, wearing whatever fancy people wear on the water.
“Mate, sounds like you want an elaborate yacht, not a pirate ship.”
“Well, why can’t it be both? A bit fancy and a bit pirate-y?”
“You’d be a legend! The most fearsomely fancy pirate on the seas!”
They fall into easy laughter, and Ed can’t help but feel like he knows the man. Like maybe they’ve met before? There’s something familiar about him. So he asks him as much.
“Oh I’d definitely remember if we’d met..” he says with a slight blush, “We just moved to town a couple of months ago– Bit of an odd story, but my ex was going to move here with our kids and, well, what can I say, I’m a committed co-parent. Plus I wanted to shake things up a bit, so I figured somewhere new could be a fun adventure! We only have this one life, right?”
Ed nods at the echo of the words spoken to him earlier today, wondering if it was a sign. Maybe he needs to shake things up a bit himself.
“Latte for Steve?” Roach’s voice echoes around the cafe.
“I really like this place, but they truly never get my name right.” The man groans and stalks over the counter, scooping up his latte.
“Roach, I know we don’t know each other that well, yet, but I know you know my name!”
“I just read out what Lucius writes on the cup, Stede. Take it up with him!”
Stede. Stede.
It can’t be. Can it? What are the odds? Ed’s mind starts to race.
“Hope you enjoy the book!” the man (Stede!?) winks as he passes Ed’s table and makes his way to the exit.
“Wait!” Ed calls after him, maybe a bit too loud. His legs carry him over to meet the other man by the door before his brain can stop them.
“Stede?” The name feels sacred as he whispers it.
The man nods slowly, one hand on the doorknob.
“Any chance your ex is Mary Allamby?”
The man’s brow furrows as he nods again, releasing the handle and stepping towards Ed.
“I–Erm–I mean– I don’t. This may be weird– But um. I read her book earlier today. About you. It was incredible. You. You seem… wonderful.” Ed feels the blush creep up to his cheeks as the words tumble out of his mouth. “I.. I didn’t expect it to have– I mean, I didn’t think it was gonna make me feel. So much.”
Ed swallows as his brain tries to piece together the blonde’s reaction, hazel eyes searching his own.
“Would you– I mean, do you have anything going on now? Wanna shake things up? You’re welcome to join me for coffee. If you’d like.”
A sparking smile broke out on the man’s face, and with it, a wash of relief calmed Ed’s nerves.
“I... I would love that.”
“My name’s Ed,” he says as he offers a hand.
“It’s wonderful to meet you, Ed”
As their hands met, Ed couldn’t help but notice how perfectly they fit together.
Like two broken pieces that, together, could be something beautiful.