Confessions of a Curious Bookseller(23)
On to other matters at hand! I understand your hesitation to take a book as payment, but if you returned to look at it, you would see it is in excellent condition and quite old. I have contacted other repairmen regarding this, and they all charge a little less than you do. I believe that is due to the fact that you are probably the best in Philadelphia. Otherwise why would you charge so much? Incidentally I would rather go with your services as you have been the nicest to deal with, and I would love to support you as a single father of two.
Please reconsider?
Sincerely,
Fawn
From: Fawn Birchill
Sent: Mon, Dec 17, 2018 at 3:09 PM
To: Staff
Subject: Theft
Dear Staff,
I believe someone has stolen the Kwanzaa display from the Mark Twain Room. Can you please look around the store for it? This is why we give out the candy canes: so people don’t feel cheated and steal from us. Also, feel free to check the Grumpy Mug. I wouldn’t be surprised if they stooped this low. I walked by their store yesterday and glanced in, and I think I saw one candy cane window sticker. How sad.
Fawn, Owner
From: Angela Washington
Sent: Mon, Dec 17, 2018 at 3:20 PM
To: Fawn Birchill, Staff
Re: Theft
No one stole it! I was cleaning the table it was on and forgot to put it back. It was on the floor behind a stack of books. Sorry about that.
—A
December 17, 2018
I think I understand what it’s like to be a diplomat or the secretary of state during wartime. Getting fellow business owners to work with me has been a herculean effort. Who thought this would be so difficult? Is it that I run a used bookstore that’s not hip enough for them to be associated with? I wish I knew what the magic answer was for this because I would pay a hefty price to learn. I have reached out to numerous businesses in these twenty years and have either had no one offer to give me cheaper rates or I’ve been completely ignored. It’s been twenty years, and it still hurts as much as if it just happened for the first time.
Tonight I had managed to fall asleep right away, a rare event indeed, until I was awakened by what sounded, in my foggy waking state, like plates crashing to the floor. With a little more clarity and time, I realized that what I was listening to was applause. I got out of bed, went to the window to peek through the curtains, and found that the Grumpy Mug was still open and holding some kind of event! At 10:30 at night! Instead of going back to bed, I listened for a little longer. I couldn’t help myself. I barely felt the cold seep up from the floorboards to my bare feet as I listened to the muffled but amplified voice of a single person in front of a microphone, then a pause followed by another uproarious bout of applause and whooping. Trembling, I drew back from the window, skin now hot with a sensation that I knew too well but had not known as rawly and intimately as I did in that moment. I couldn’t sleep after that, even though I tried. Eventually the crowd dispersed, and the store officially closed. I could hear his customers walking by my own store, laughing. I pulled the blankets over my head and waited for that hot sensation to fade.
In better news, the cat with the runny eye is looking better! What a relief and joy to see. I’m not sure what it was that finally cured him. Maybe he just needed to be shown a little love. Sometimes that’s the best tonic.
From: Fawn Birchill
Sent: Tue, Dec 18, 2018 at 7:05 AM
To: Jacob Whitney
Subject: Smooth Criminal?
Dear Mr. Whitney,
I am beginning to think that you are a common criminal and are currently sunning yourself in Belize, using the money I’ve paid you to buy yourself rum and Caribbean cruises.
I have considered taking legal action but have run into some financial straits. I may take action in due time, so don’t go too far because the Philadelphia justice system may be calling you back home.
Fawn Birchill, Owner, The Curious Cat Book Emporium (a Mark Twain specialist store)
From: Fawn Birchill
Sent: Tue, Dec 18, 2018 at 11:17 AM
To: O’Hare Repair
Re: Business Arrangement
Dear Cahill,
Thank you so much for stopping by and reconsidering. I believe the number we arrived at suits us both very well. The job you did on the leak is wonderful. Aside from a little staining on the ceiling, one would never know that there was ever any black mold dripping onto my inventory. One of my staff members, Angela (the tall girl with the slumped stature), has taken on the task of wiping the mold from the books. So far we have rescued one and thrown out three—not terrible for such a disaster.
Would you like to have coffee with me? Please do not think of me as forward. If you decline, be simply flattered and nothing more, for I respect you very much and would never want to put you in an uncomfortable position. There is a La Colombe on Rittenhouse Square that I think would be a nice middle ground since you live so far south. We could get our coffees and sit inside (it is so romantically Italian in there!) or perhaps walk around the park and see the holiday lights. You must get these inquiries all the time, so please forgive me. I have been struggling with what to say and how to say it, and I think through email is best. That way you can think on it, too, and not have to answer right away. Oh, here I am rambling on like a teenager! I rarely do this, which explains why I am so terrible at it.
Sincerely,
Fawn