Page 56 of Safe With You
He placed the paperback in front of me. “I did. Do you have any more by this author?”
“I think we have two in stock.”
I scanned the book, then walked him back to the shelf to show him the others. He bought all three, along with a blueberry muffin Naomi convinced him he needed for the ride home.
The quiet stretch ended after that.
By closing time, I had only managed to look through half the gallery again.
Naomi flipped the sign on the door while I counted the register.
“We’re doing another one,” she announced.
I kept sorting bills. “Another what?”
“Open Mic Night.”
“That’s not a decision you get to make by yourself.”
“I’m not making it by myself. The pictures made it.”
I glanced up at her.
She nodded toward my phone. “You saw that place Tuesday night. People loved it.”
“I know they did.”
“So why would we make it a one-time thing?”
“Because one successful event doesn’t automatically mean we need to add something else to our schedule every month.”
“True.”
“And we’d have to coordinate the performers, rearrange the store, order extra café supplies, promote it, make sure Maya can work—”
“Also true.”
Naomi crossed the store and leaned against the counter.
“You’re listing logistics like I said we should do it again next Tuesday.”
“That sounds like something you would suggest.”
“I was thinking next month.”
I tucked the deposit slip beneath the cash tray.
“It could work,” she continued. “Not just poetry either. We could do an author spotlight one month. Maybe acoustic music another.”
“We are not turning the bookstore into a concert venue.”
“One man and a guitar is hardly a concert.”
“One man and a guitar can still get us a noise complaint.”
She smiled. “So you’ve considered it.”
“I’m considering asking you to mop.”
