Chapter 10 There Could Be Worse Ways To Deal With It
Corran
April is away to browse some books to buy. I plan on taking it as my opportunity to pay for breakfast. Yes, April wanted to pay, but that doesn’t sit right with me. Call me old-fashioned, but I prefer paying. I glance around, making sure April can’t see me and head to the counter to pay.
“Hello, Morgan, can I pay please before my friend comes back?”
“Sure. It is nice to see you with someone, Corran, rather than being alone.”
I have come here for years. Edin and I used to come. I don’t come around as much as I did when Edin was still here. I still make an appearance from time to time. Morgan is the daughter of the couple who own it. I know her well, and I know her parents well, too. They were very kind to me after I lost Edin. They brought my food and coffee nearly every day, even if I didn’t answer the door sometimes, they would leave it outside the door. They are all very kind.
“Yes, it has been a while.”
“Are you on a date?” she asks softly.
I shake my head. “No. April just moved here from the States. We are neighbours and friends. She lost her husband a few years ago, so we can understand one another.” I answer and tap my car, leaving a tip with cash.
“I am glad you have someone to talk to, Corran.” She smiles.
“Yes. I am going to find her. She disappeared to look at books and hasn’t returned.” I laugh and disappear to find her.
The bookshop part is big. It is the perfect place for a reader to be. I pivot through the bookshelves, but I can’t seem to find her. Where is she? Did she sneak out, and I didn’t notice?
“April?” I call out.
“I am over here, Corran.” I hear April call back.
I follow her voice, and when I find her, I laugh. She has a stack of books in her hands, one she can’t see over the top of. I rush over, taking most of them from her before she ends up banging into something or dropping them all.
“Are you planning on buying the entire store?”
“No, these will do for now. I didn’t bring much with me from home. I only have a few books, so I need more. I love to read, and I plan on taking advantage of the time I still have left before starting my new job. I will take care of breakfast when I pay for these.”
“Breakfast has been paid for.”
“Corran! The deal was I would pay.” She whines, glaring at me.
I shrug and chuckle, hurrying off before she starts lecturing me and head for the counter to wait for her. Morgan laughs when she sees how many books I have in my hands.
“You found her then?”
“Yes, I think she bought half the books in the place.”
There is a mix of brand-new books and second-hand books in the shop. April appears, and Morgan laughs again when she sees there is more. We set them down, and Morgan scans them.
April pays for them. It should be fun trying to get them back to her place. Between the two of us, we should manage. I have never seen someone buy so many books at once. I thought Edin used to buy a lot, but it was nothing compared to April’s.
“This is your fault for bringing me here.”
“I didn’t force you to buy them. Do you even have bookshelves to keep them in?”
She shakes her head. “No, not yet. I should order some or go pick some up.”
“We could go today?”
“I am sure you don’t want to spend any more of your time with me?”
“I don’t mind spending more time with you. If we get them today, I can help you build them up, somewhere for your books to go.”
I don’t have any other plans. If I am with someone and doing something to occupy myself, then it means less time alone and less time to think.
“Okay. Probably better going today. I won’t be able to go out for the next couple of days because I have most of my things being delivered that I need for the house.”
I am happy to hear that. The place will be more of a home with the things she needs.
“We can drop these in and then go.” I smile.
“Thank you for everything since I arrived here. After our first interaction, I honestly believed you were going to be rude, someone who I didn’t want to bother with.”
“I am sorry about that. I was rude that first night.”
April shrugs. “It is okay.”
I didn’t want to have anything to do with her after our first couple of meetings, but it changed quickly. It is good that it did because it turned out we had a lot more in common than either of us could imagine. I don’t always make a first great impression. I don’t mean to seem like an asshole, but with my guard up so high, it is what I do. I don’t want anyone close or give them a chance to get to know me.
We make it back to her place without dropping the books. We place them on her bed, which is the only place big enough. She excuses herself to use the bathroom before we leave again. I wait in the living room. In the silence, I hear April talk to herself again. I can’t make out what she is saying, but she is talking and laughing, the same way she was the last couple of times I noticed. I still find it all a little strange, but who am I to question her?
I hear the bathroom door open, and I act like I wasn’t just listening to her. She seems to be smiling brighter after her trip to the bathroom. I really hope she isn’t on something. I don’t want to get involved with someone who is into drugs.
“Were you talking to yourself again?”
Her eyes widen, and she becomes nervous. “Um, yes, a little. Sorry. I promise I am not weird or on something I shouldn’t be. It is more of a comfort thing. It is something that started a couple of months after Corbin passed.”
Now I feel bad for even thinking she is on something. We all get comfort in different ways, and have different ways to deal with it. For me is drink and isolation. If talking with herself makes her feel better, then why not? There could be worse ways to deal with it.
“That makes sense. Do you still talk to him? I talk to Edin sometimes, even though I know she isn’t there.”
“I do, yes. You don’t know that. They could be around.” She smiles and heads for the front door.
Does she really believe that? I wish I could. I sigh and follow her. We head out once again.