Only You

One

As I stack the last book onto the shelf, I sigh momentarily. Only 45 minutes have passed since I last checked. I still have 15 minutes until I finish and I've done everything I can think of. The thought of closing early crosses my mind before I shut it down almost as quickly as it appears. I could never do that.

Just as I reach to untie the rust coloured apron from my waist, the door opens. I don't turn straight away, aware of how intimidated I feel when I'm approached straight away in a store. Instead I re-tie the strings to make it look as though I was adjusting my uniform. I hear heavy footsteps behind me, signalling that the customer is approaching me directly rather than browsing so I turn and hold in a gasp as I take in the sight before me.

He's not our usual type of visitor that's for sure. I smile quickly, scolding myself for being judgemental, but he doesn't return it. Instead he holds out a tatty paperback with brightly coloured post-its littering the pages. The cover is hanging on for dear life and the lettering on the front is faded and worn. It has definitely seen better days.

"I need this recovering," he speaks. His voice isn't as I expected it to be, it's deep but there's a hint of an accent.

"Sure, would you rather leave it here until Tom gets back, he's the owner or I can do it now?" I answer, hoping the nervousness in my voice isn't showing too much.

He glances at the clock, prompting me to do the same and turns back to look at the book.

"Will it take long?" He asks, not making eye contact.

"Um, no it should only take a few minutes," I reply, willing him not to look up as the redness floods my cheeks.

He gives me a curt nod, indicating his answer so I take the book to the counter and begin removing the cover as gently as I can. I make out the words on the cover to be Pride and Prejudice and I have to stop myself from laughing. He definitely doesn't look the sort of person to be reading this. He strolls towards the counter, his eyes tracing the bookshelves before settling on where I'm working, watching intently.

"I haven't seen you here before," he comments, taking me by surprise.

I've worked here for months, I think.

"Oh," I reply not knowing what to say. He doesn't speak for a moment, his eyes boring into my hands as they work the glue into the right places.

"Do you work here full time?" He questions. I look over at him and see his eyebrow raised slightly, waiting for an answer.

"No, 3 days a week. I'm just about to graduate," I honestly don't know how to feel around this person and for once I wish there was somebody else here browsing the shelves.

"Okay, so will you be here much longer?"

That's a bit personal...

"I'm not sure, I hope so but it depends whether I can stay on here full time once I graduate, Tom was really nice in taking me on to pay for college but I haven't asked," I reply, not looking up. Please stop with the questions.

He nods slowly and in the corner of my eye I see him looking at the book intensely as though ensuring I don't break it. Not that it would have made much difference from the condition it was in when he handed it over. I will my hands to work faster, in the hopes of ending this awkward encounter. Silence fills the air as I finish the last job on the book, finally turning around to hand it back to him. He inspects it carefully before setting it down on the counter and pulling out his wallet. He doesn't look me in the eye as he hands the money over and instead, picks the book up and walks out without a word. That was rude.

I shake my head and walk over to the large oak door at the front of the shop, turning the lock and flipping the sign to closed before letting out a sigh of relief. That had to have been the longest day I've experienced at the shop, with barely any customers, the hours seemed to go by painfully slowly and my shift got longer every time a task was completed. On the bright side, the shop was looking a lot better than it did yesterday. I rearranged the furniture to allow more room between the shelves and seating area and then restocked all of the shelves to make them look more lively.

Hanging up my apron on the hooks behind the counter and sanitising my hands to free them of the dust that filled the surfaces, I let my unruly hair out of its ponytail, easing the tension headache threatening to attack.

25 minutes later once the money has been stored away, the doors and windows locked, lights turned off and shutters closed, I begin the walk back to my apartment. It only takes a few minutes, being a mere block away from the store but it feels good to slip off my pumps as soon as my feet step on to the shabby mat covering the hallway. The apartment is dingy but it does the job, it was only supposed to be temporary as I made my way through college but I find myself frowning at the thought of getting rid of it.

The light grey walls cast my shadow as I make my way into the living room, groaning at the state of it. I'd been putting off cleaning after my fiasco last night trying to find my card which had fallen out of my purse at some point and got lodged between the sofa cushions. I'm usually a very tidy person but with the stress of finishing my essays and working, my priorities have shifted slightly meaning the apartment drew the short straw.

I begin picking up the cushions and the throw which had been launched across the room in my fit and place them back in their rightful places before picking up the wine glass and empty bottle from the coffee table, grimacing at the ring they had left on the wooden surface. Good job I have cleaning products in to fix it.

Satisfied with my deep cleaning efforts once everything is back in order, I decide to run myself a bath and then turn in for the night.