The Summer Home

14. Browsing For Books

     Since the money Cheryl was using to pay for lunch came from her father, Nathan didn't feel bad about letting her take the cheque. Later in the future he would likely be using royalties from his Dad's books to buy a lot of things, hopefully a few for Cheryl so it was all good. Lunch was indeed amazing, and he was so happy that he let Cheryl pick the place because he would not have been brave enough to pick a place so fancy and of high quality. The only thing that was missing was a bottle of wine, but they were both not of age and were willing to wait for that day to come rather than have to spend some more community time with the Retro Highwayman. They walked out and once again were hand in hand as they walked down the street towards their next intended destination. Same as the last time they walked together, Cheryl was the only one who had any clue to where they were going so Nathan held her hand and let her lead he way. It didn't take long to make it to the bookstore, and when they did arrive it was everything Nathan had hoped for and more. It was one of those old, family-owned books shops that had books on every floor. Some sections had a small sense of organization but most of the books were stacked into shelving units by genre. As they walked inside, Nathan could feel the cool air and knew why this was going to be a lot of fun. He had saved a lot of his own money for this date, eager to get a few books. It looks like Cheryl had her own plan to get a few books herself and was giddy as a schoolgirl as she walked in and started to look around. Nathan was slower walking in but it was his first time there, so he was just taking it all in. The place looked a lot smaller on the outside but had books all over the place from one wall to the other and then a ton of shelves in the middle. He had no idea where he wanted to start.

     "Excuse me, young fellow." said an old man that worked there in the store. He could tell Nathan was amazed and confused at the same time and he was there to give him friendly nudge in the right direction. "Is there a particular title or author you're looking for?"

     "As a matter of fact, there is." Nathan replied excitedly. "I'm looking for books written by Peter Anderlini."

     "Good choice my friend." The old man said with a huff. "To get those books, you're looking for mysteries and thrillers on the second floor. I'm pretty sure we have a good selection. He's pretty popular in these parts."

     "Is that so?" Nathan said.

     "Rumor has it that Mr. Anderlini occasionally spends some time down here every summer." The old man said with a wink.

     "How do you know that?" Nathan said, well aware the rumor was true.

     "I have proof." He walked back to his counter and pulled out a book. "One day I put this book on the shelf, and it was in mint condition. There was a mark on it. Not one dog tag or anything inscribed within it. That's why I asked for a fairly reasonable price for it being in such great shape. When I was reorganizing that section, I found this."

     He opened the book to the second page and there was something written on it:

To my endearing fans,
thank you for your support.

Sincerely,
Peter Anderlini

     Nathan looked at it and pretended to be surprised. "One day it wasn't there and then suddenly it was?"

     "I think he was here in this store, browsing for a book of his own. Maybe he was waiting for a girlfriend to pick out a book and got bored so he decided to autograph a few books while waiting or her to make up her mind. It's happened a few times over the years, I've just never caught him in the act.

     "That's cool." Nathan said as he looked at the autograph. "Most authors charge for this, don't they?"

     "More than that, Mr. Anderlini doesn't do book tours or autograph sessions anymore. He hasn't done anything public relations related in close to ten years. Lives a very private life I'm told." The old man huffed as he went back to his desk to put the book away. "But I don't blame the man; all he wants some privacy to do his art. I say let him have it."