How to Find Love in a Book Shop(67)

Emilia held Sarah’s hands and looked at her. She could see now the depth of the sadness in Sarah’s eyes. And she could feel the warmth and kindness that Julius must have been drawn to. And she was grateful to Sarah, for her compassion and honesty. It must have been a painful confession. She felt honoured to be trusted with the secret. She supposed when she had time to think about it, she might be shocked, but she wasn’t going to judge. She found it a comfort, that Julius had this woman’s devotion. And she knew, from all the books she had ever read, that life was complicated, that love sprang from nowhere sometimes, and that forbidden love wasn’t always something to be ashamed of.





Sixteen

A few days later, Bea laid a presentation folder in front of Emilia with a proud smile.

‘I tried really hard not to get too carried away,’ she said.

She had made it into the shape of a book. On the front it read Nightingale Books, in silver writing on navy blue. She’d designed a logo – N and B entwined, with a tendril of roses and a tiny nightingale perched amongst them.

‘This is the logo – you can use it on all your social media, your bags, the sign outside. A really strong visual that people can recognise and identify with.’

‘It’s sweet. We could have T-shirts.’ Emilia felt a swirl of delight.

‘Exactly. This is about creating a brand as much as creating a really immersive shopping experience.’

‘OK …’ Emilia wasn’t used to jargon, but Bea thrived on it.

The first page was a CAD drawing of the shop divided up into sections, using double-sided bookcases. There was a four-sided counter in the centre of the floor space, allowing whoever was serving to see all around the shop.

‘I wanted it to feel as if it’s got different rooms. Different rooms with different feels,’ Bea explained. ‘There’s so much wasted space, but this gives you twice as much shelf space as well as more room to browse.’

Each section had a page and Bea had created a mood board for each one. The pièce de résistance was the café area on the mezzanine, which also had an area selling cards and wrapping paper and small gifts. There were just three wooden tables, and a marble-topped table with three cake domes.

‘Oh!’ breathed Emilia. ‘Do you think we can do it? It looks absolutely gorgeous. Sort of the-same-but-different.’

‘I wanted to keep the spirit of what your dad had here, but move it on a bit. Make it modern but nostalgic. Somewhere people can explore their imaginations: step back into the past if they want, or into another world, or into the future. That’s what a book shop should be, after all – a gateway to somewhere else. But books aren’t enough – you have to give people a helping hand.’

Emilia leafed through the drawings. Bea really had been clever. She had kept everything that was important, but showed it off to much greater effect. The colours were softer: the walls pale grey, the shelves painted white, which made the shop seem bigger.

‘I love it all. I love the lights!’

At the moment, the shop was lit with old-fashioned strip lights, harsh at best. Bea had put in some very cool chandeliers: white twisted glass with red wire threaded through them.

‘Well, those are probably very expensive, but it gives you an idea of what could be done.’

Emilia sighed. ‘How much do you think it will cost? Because of course, that’s the rub. None of this looks cheap.’

Bea made a face. ‘Well, you get what you pay for. But some of it can be done with MDF and magic. And we can work with what we’ve got already. If we rip up the carpet, we can use the floorboards – put a nice chalky paint effect over them. And then painting everything pale colours will give the illusion of more space. And you don’t have to do it all at once!’

‘But I want to do it all at once,’ laughed Emilia. ‘And how long do you think it would take? We’d have to close while it was being done.’

‘I’ve done a timetable,’ said Bea. ‘I reckon two weeks, with all hands on deck. As for price, we’d have to get quotes. It’s mostly carpentry; a bit of wiring. Decorating. But of course, as we all know, once you start taking something apart, then you uncover all sorts of horrors.’

‘It’s a total refurb,’ said Emilia, shaking her head. ‘There’s no point in being half-arsed about it. We’d have to take all the books out and put them somewhere. And I need to put in a new computer system while I’m at it. And security.’ She put her face in her hands. ‘I’m so excited. But I’m scared. I’ve got to make the decision and I don’t know what to do. It would be so easy to walk away and go back to my old life. Or sell up and start a new one. Either of those would be easier!’

‘But not as rewarding?’

Emilia looked around the shop. She imagined everything Bea had outlined brought to life, and how exciting that would be.

She just had to find the courage from somewhere.

And the cash …

‘I’ll get some quotes. There’s no point in getting excited until I know what it’s going to cost.’

‘I’ve got some good guys who did my house. They’re reliable. And fast. And good. They have to be, to work for me.’ Bea laughed. ‘I’ll ask them for a quote.’

‘And will you help me do a window display for Mick Gillespie? He’s coming at the weekend, remember.’