The Bookish Life of Nina Hill(67)

“It was?” Tom frowned.

“Oh yes,” said Nina, warming to her theme. “Ice cream is the frosty treat of choice for the military industrial complex.”

Tom stared at her. “You know, I’ve never met a woman who throws the phrase ‘military industrial complex’ around with such confidence. It’s very sexy.”

Nina flicked ice at him. “You should look it up; it’s fascinating.”

“I’d rather you explained it to me. You’re much nicer to look at than Wikipedia.”

“Wash out your mouth,” she said, and then turned as someone called her name.

“Nina!” It was Millie Reynolds, clutching the hand of her mother, Eliza.

“Hey!” Nina was thrilled and bent down to hug her little sister. “Tom, this is my sister, Millie.”

“Is this your boyfriend?” asked the little girl.

“Yes,” replied Tom, shooting Nina a sideways glance. “I think it’s acceptable to say that, isn’t it?”

Nina nodded, feeling unusually relaxed. Maybe it was the sno-cone; maybe it was the sunshine.

“You know, Archie’s here somewhere with his little boy, Henry . . .” Millie giggled. “He’s my nephew.”

“I’ll let him know we found you,” said Eliza. She smiled at Nina. “Millie told me about your book club. I think it sounds like a good idea. I’ll see if I can make it work.”

“Great,” said Nina. She grinned at Millie, who gave her a quick thumbs-up.

Suddenly, Liz appeared, moving quickly.

“Hide me,” she said. “Meffo’s here. He’s cornering people left and right. He just trapped the toy store owner in front of the funnel cake stand.”

Everyone but Nina frowned in confusion, and Nina started looking around for an escape route. She spotted their landlord moving slowly up the street, scanning the crowd left and right like a cop car cruising a shady neighborhood.

She had an idea. “Look, Polly’s about to get into a giant inflatable ball. Go take her place.” Nina pushed Liz toward the long line to get into the attraction. “Go on!”

Liz scrambled over to where Polly literally had one foot in a ball and rapidly explained the situation. The blower guy was harder to convince, and the line of parents was muttering darkly, but Liz’s panic communicated itself, and Polly stepped aside. Liz was launched just in time; Meffo was among them.

“Hi, Nina,” he said, smiling politely at everyone. “Is Liz at the Festival? I’ve been looking for her.”

“I don’t see her right now,” said Nina, which was true.

The landlord sighed. “Can I speak to you privately?” he said, drawing her to one side. “Please tell your boss that time is up. I’m going to rent the store.”

Nina frowned. “Surely, we’re not that late on the rent, Mr. Meffo?” She’d always kind of assumed the dance about the rent was just one of those things, a normal part of business. Liz certainly never seemed all that worried, not that she discussed business with her. “It’s the first of June, I get that, but May just ended yesterday.”

Mr. Meffo looked at her curiously. “The rent for May isn’t the issue, Nina. It’s the rent for last December I’m looking for.” He looked sad. “Knight’s hasn’t made rent in over six months.”

Nina stared at him and shook her head. “But we’ve been busier than usual. I thought . . .”

Meffo shook his head. “I’m sorry, Nina, but the store is barely staying afloat. I have a lot of affection for Knight’s, but at a certain point I have to be realistic.” He walked away, and Nina watched him, the sounds of the Festival drowned out by the pounding of her own heart. Then she turned and studied her boss paddling around in circles, barely staying afloat herself.

A little while later, Liz, Polly, and Nina sat in the darkened store, talking quietly.

Liz was uncharacteristically somber. “It’s true, I’m afraid,” she said. “Despite everyone declaring the death of books, business is really good, just not quite good enough.” She smiled at her employees. “Your generation is filled with awesome book readers. But the rent has gone up and up and I can’t get ahead. I’m sorry. I had to keep the lights on, and I didn’t want to fire either of you.” She hung her head. “I kept hoping something would turn up.”

Polly said, “Maybe Nina will inherit a zillion dollars and she can save the store. Isn’t that what happens in movies? Miraculous inheritance?” She looked at Nina. “When is that will reading? It could happen, right?”

Nina shrugged. “It’s next week, but I don’t know if I inherited anything or, if I did, whether my crazy niece will let me have it without a fight. Mr. Meffo sounded pretty definite.” She looked at Liz, not wanting to criticize, but needing to know. “Did you ask the bank for a loan?”

Liz laughed. “Of course, that’s how I paid the rent two years ago. Last year I mortgaged my house for a third time, so we were good until December. I tried to find a buyer for my kidneys, but I’m too old.”

“You can have one of my kidneys!” said Polly, clearly meaning it. “I only need one, right?”

“Yes,” said Nina. “The other kidney gets larger to compensate. In fact . . .”