This Book Made Me Think of You(95)

“But you’re not,” she says fiercely. “You have made an impact, Alfie Lane, even if you can’t always see it. But hopefully today, you will.”

He doesn’t know what to say to that. So instead he opens the door, letting his customers in one last time.





Fifty-Eight




The bookshop is heaving, Blue and Prudence handling payments, letting Alfie simply talk with customers. Tilly keeps the customers and staff topped up with mulled wine and mince pies. As she darts about the shop, she listens to the stories people share with Alfie, who has gone from bewildered to emotional, his eyes brimming as people come up to him again and again to shake his hand or embrace him tightly.

People tell Alfie about their favorite books he or his father recommended to them over the years. There’s much sniffing and handing of tissues as parents and grandparents remember the first books they bought for their children and grandchildren. Local authors come in to thank Alfie for his support, and other shopkeepers on the road pop by, saying how sorry they are to see the bookshop close.

And people buy books. Stacks of them. Blue and Prudence can hardly keep up, and there is a queue out the door all day. Tilly’s family stop by, along with Rachel.

“Thanks again for all your help with my book,” Rachel says as Tilly passes mince pies around. “Your feedback has given me a whole new perspective and made me excited to get to work again.”

“I loved doing it. It was fascinating to hear about your grandparents’ story and reading you finally writing as you…I feel like you’ve really found your voice, Rach. Reading it felt like hearing you in my head.”

Rachel’s eyes brim. She pulls Tilly into a sideways hug.

“And this is why you’re going to be so great at your new job. You sure do know how to make a writer feel special.

“This is such a lovely bookshop,” Rachel adds wistfully. “It’s so sad that it’s closing.”

Her words remind Tilly of the thing that she’s been trying to ignore all day. With everyone laughing and smiling and sharing stories of how much the bookshop means to them, it’s easy to forget why they’re all here. It really does feel so much like a celebration that it’s easy to forget it’s an ending.

Just as Tilly feels tears pricking her eyes, the door opens again, and a voice makes her turn. “Bonjour! On est arrivés!”

Standing in the doorway are the Paris Grief Gang: Lola, John, Pierre, Fairooz, Cécile, and Cécile’s girlfriend, Bertrice. Tilly lets out a squeal and rushes to greet them, finding herself wrapped up in a tangle of arms and kisses.

“I’m so happy to see you all,” Tilly says once she’s hugged them all tightly. “I can’t believe you’re all here!”

“Christmas is always a tough time of year,” says John, dressed in his usual tweed but with a festive tartan bow tie. “We all agreed that spending it in London was a wonderful thing to do. I’ve hired a rather darling Airbnb not far from here.”

“It’s huge,” Lola mouths, wide-eyed.

“We’re going to the pub for lunch tomorrow and are going to have a marvelous time,” says John. “But first I need to have a good look around this utterly charming bookshop.”

“Me too,” says Fairooz, heading straight to the crime section. Pierre is already browsing in the art and design section, while Lola heads straight for romance.

“?a va? Are you OK?” Cécile asks once the others have wandered off to inspect the shelves. Prudence and Blue are busy at the till, and Alfie is sitting on the cushions in the children’s corner reading The Jolly Postman to a group of small children, complete with all the voices. “White Christmas” plays on a wireless speaker of Joe’s that Tilly brought from home. It all looks so beautifully, painfully lovely that it’s suddenly hard not to cry.

“It’s so nice that everyone has come to show their support, but it makes it harder in a way, too, knowing how much the shop means to everyone and how much it will be missed.”

“I wonder how he is doing,” Cécile says, looking toward the counter where Alfie has returned from reading to the children. “If Shakespeare and Co. ever closed, I’d be broken. It’s my home, in a way. This must be hard for him.”

Alfie looks up then. He meets Tilly’s gaze, and they share a soft smile. She wants to cross the shop and reach for his hand. John approaches the counter, falling into conversation with Alfie. They stay like that for some time. Tilly busies herself with passing around mince pies and helping customers, trying her best to soak up the last precious moments in the bookshop, holding on to every detail for when it’s all over.



* * *



—

The customers of Book Lane buy every last book on the shelves. By the end of the day, the shop is completely empty, only dust and fairy lights left behind. The Paris Grief Gang are the last to leave.

“I have no idea how I’m going to get all these back in my suitcase,” says Lola, lifting her heavy bag of books, “but that’s a future me problem.”

As John pays for his books, he reaches a hand across the counter to shake Alfie’s. To Tilly’s surprise, Alfie is smiling. She admires his strength—she is pretty sure there are mascara trails running down her cheeks. Prudence and Blue have been in tears throughout the day, too, Prudence tucking tissues up her sleeves to the point that she’s starting to resemble an overstuffed scarecrow.