Chapter Text
It was a simple, quiet day. The door had only opened a few times, a fun dingle playing as a customer entered. They'd linger between the shelves, searching for what they needed. Some would grab one, read what it was about and then put it back. It did not take long for Lillian to do the same and start reading. It was an easy book, nothing too serious. She did this often when the store was relatively quiet. She'd leisurely browse and select a book from the shelves and read it behind the till until a customer came to her for help. The job could be dull at times, but whenever she got to help people pick out new books, she'd be more than excited to do it. It ranged from little kids wanting a picture book to an old withered man trying to find his way through the history section.
It was not often that anyone needed any help, so when a man who looked to be in his thirties asked for Lillian's help, she looked up with a bright smile.
"What do you usually read?" That was the first question she usually asked. She would use it to try to uncover what they liked. The man pondered the question.
"Well," He read her name tag. "Lillian," He started, then he stopped. Lillian smiled at him. "I guess I enjoy history. Not those super long and boring non-fiction books, but just," He searched for the right words.
"Novels?" She questioned. He nodded slowly. "I'll show you the historic fiction." A few clumsy steps got Lillian out from behind the till and she led the way through the store and halted in front of one of the shelves. Quickly, she scanned the shelf and pulled out a book. "This is quite good," she handed the man The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. "It's about a German girl during the second world war. She steals books to read and share with others. It’s narrated by death itself." Lillian scanned the shelf again as the man focused on the back of the book, reading the description.
"That is interesting" He muttered as he checked the price tag. He held it close to his chest, smiling at Lillian as she pulled another book from the shelve. She examined it for a moment before putting it back and standing up straight.
"What do you think?" She looked at him expectantly. The man nodded slowly and then smiled. It was a kind smile. His beard hid a bit more of his face and crows-feet decorated the crease of his eyes.
"I'll take it." With a curd nod, Lillian led the man back to the till and rang up the book.
"We have a special discount on history books right now. Do you have our customer card?" She asked as she put the book in a small paper bag
"No, I don't. What’s the discount?" He asked as he searched his wallet for a five-pound note.
"15% off." Lillian's eyes connected with his as she finished packing up the bag. "I'll just need your name and email or mobile number to make you a card." The man shrugged.
"Why not." It was more of a statement than a question. Lillian grabbed a card and scanned it into the system.
"Your first and last name?" She asked, ready to type them into the system.
"John Price" He answered.
Price. Where had I heard that name before? She pondered for a moment before she typed it in. "And would you rather we use your email or SMS for correspondence?"
"Ah, SMS would be great." John quickly told her his number and She typed along. Lillian did not know it yet, but this was the easiest way she'd ever gotten a man's number for something that wasn't a discount card.
"Great." She calculated the discount. "Your total will be £4.25." She took the five pounds from him and grabbed his change then handed him the bag and the card. "See you soon." She smiled. John chuckled and happily took the book from her.
"You probably will. This is a beautiful shop." He tipped his hat at her and left the store. Lillian's cheek turned a slight pink at John's compliment. It was not often someone said something about the store and even though she wasn't the owner, it still felt great to hear.
It had already been nearing closing time when John left the store. Now, ten minutes later, Lillian was rolling the sign inside and locking the door. Once the door was locked and covered by the metal screen that protected it, she went to the till to count today's profits. It wasn't a lot, but it was decent for a weekday. She quickly took it to the back and stuffed it into the safe for the owner to find the next day. Not much later, She stood outside in the cool autumn air with her bag slung over her shoulder. She locked the door and started the ten-minute walk to her apartment.
It was a small town. One might think it to look like those towns you see in American movies, just without the oversized everything and gun maniacs. There was a small supermarket next to the bookshop. Across there was a laundromat which Lillian was pretty sure had not been used in years. There was also a hardware shop, which primarily sold wood and stuff to survive the winter when the time came. Lillian walked past it now, peeking inside to see if it was still open. Thankfully it was. She needed a new heater or she would be freezing to death soon. A bell chimed as she made her way inside. It alerted Arthur, the owner, who was sitting behind the counter.
"’Ello, Lily." A shudder ran through her body as the heat of the shop hit her. Arthur always liked to crank it up as high as his heater would go. "What can I help ya with?" He stood up.
"Did you get any good heaters in?" Arthur nodded and showed me to the newest ones. Lillian could see the price tag but, out of fear for the price, decided not to look at it.
"This'un is amazing. 'm using it right now. It comes with a remote an' everything." She leaned closer to it. The price tag was getting scarily clear to her. £109.99 it read. And it dared to say 'Special offer!'. She grunted and rubbed her hands over her eyes.
"Any special discounts for your favourite bookseller?" Pleading was not something Lillian often did, but when it came to money and discounts she couldn't stop herself. Arthur seemed to consider it for a while but eventually shook his head.
"Can't do that, hun'" He said, a genuinely sad look on his face. She offered him a smile, which was probably easily detectable as fake, and turned to leave.
"I will be back for one of those. Please set one aside." She called behind her as she left the shop.
With her arms wrapped around her, she made her way home. The night had gotten cold and she had not brought a jacket. She fiddled with the lock on the door and eventually made her way inside. Her home was dark and cold when she came in. She clicked on the overhead lights, too tired to make the effort of turning on all the small lights scattered around the room. She grabbed a blanket from the sofa that sat against the wall across from the door and made her way to my bed. Lillian's home was a studio, so there was no wall separating her bed from the rest of the place. Her studio was quite spacious, with only a room divider offering her some privacy from the rest of the room. The kitchen was to the far right of the room and had a decently big island offering a place to eat. In the middle of the room, in front of the sofa, was a small coffee table. She flopped down onto the bed and kicked off her shoes, then continued to slide under the triple layer of blankets and settle her head into her extremely fluffy pillow. She pulled her Djungleskog closer to her and sighed. She needed that heater but just had to get the money together to actually buy it. That, however, was a problem for another day as she closed her eyes and soon found herself in one of the deeper slumbers she had had in a long while. She also found herself dreaming of a certain face. It was familiar, but the harder she tried to figure out who it was, the vaguer it became.