Used Customer Service

  “Isn’t this the best? It’s what I have always dreamed of.”

   Joseph smiled and nodded at Anja.

   “Put the open sign in the window.” Anja handed the open sign to Joseph who took two steps and then put it in the window.

   “No, this side. See? Then you can turn the little sign on the door to say open, too. So, we got the big sign on this side, and the little sign on that side. See?”

   Joseph smiled and nodded.

   “Okay, let me go through it all first. We’re going to move the Classics to the front so it’s the first thing people see when they come in the door. We’ll put some behind cash as well. The Harlequins are moving to the back of the store. We’re getting rid of True Crime. I am not selling True Crime. Those people can go somewhere else.”

   The bell went as a girl stepped into the shop. She was a few feet in when he called, “You got the Driver’s Handbook?”

   “This is a used bookstore.”

   “What? People do the test and then they hold on to the book forever? You pass the test you, don’t need the book anymore. That’s why I’m asking at a used bookstore. I don’t want to pay full price.”

   “We don’t carry them.”

   “Kill you to look?” The girl said as she left.

   Anja rolled her eyes and Joseph nodded.

   “So, we’re going to ask people if they have cookbooks that they want to sell us. Trade us. We’re not giving them money. We’re giving them credit. But they have to spend some money every time they use their credit. We’ll cover that later. Oh, the smell. Smell that. Take a deep breath. I love the smell of books.”

   A young bearded man with a knapsack came in. “You have any D & D?”

   Anja knotted a brow at him.

   “Dungeons and Dragons?”

   “We sell books, we don’t sell games.”

   “Yea, okay, Novels? Manuals? Campaigns?”

   “I don’t think so.”

   “Fantasy? Science Fiction?”

   Joseph stepped in. “This way. Along this wall.”

   “My husband will show you. Follow him.”

   A boy walked in and went past them Anja with his head down. He looked around the shelves circling the inside of the store.

   “May we help you? Hello? May we help you?” Anja eyed him suspiciously.

   “Do you have any comics?”

   “No, this is a book store.”

   “Comics are books. Comic books.”

   “Are you being smart with me?”

   “There are some at the back here.” Joseph said and waved to a bottom shelf.

   “We have some at the back.” Anja announced.

   The boy looked and then headed for the door. “Those are for kids.”

   “My, how grown we are.”

   The boy scowled as he left.

   The bearded young man came to the front and bought three paperbacks. He held one up. “That’s a D&D novel. You have almost a shelf of them there.” He left.

   Anja brought up a spritzer bottle of vinegar and a paper towel and made a show of cleaning the front counter and register.

   “So, we’re asking people to bring in their cookbooks, beauty books, and art books. Real history books. Not all those war and fighter planes things. We’re getting rid of those. And the westerns.”

   A young woman came in. “Historical Romance?”

   Joseph led her down the middle aisle.

   “They’re not very historical.” Anja said, joining them.

   “I like them.”

   “The store’s under new ownership.”

   “Uh-huh.” The young woman ran her finger along the shelf, plucking books and quickly reading the blurbs on their backs. In no time she had three.

   “We’re going to be changing things around.”

   “That’s nice. This is what I like. Can I pay for these? I’m on a break. I just want to get these and go.”

   Anja rang her through the register in silence and watched her leave.       

   “We’re going to add a spinner rack of bookmarks. Candles. Incense. We’re going to make a coffee nook at the back.”

   “Is your dad covering that, too?”

   “No, we have to pay for that. It’s not a lot. You’ll have to work some overtime at Stelco. We don’t need all that science fiction. We should have a business section.”

   A man stepped in. “Do you have lottery tickets?”

   Anja gaped at Joseph who said. “There’s a variety at the corner.”

   “Their machine is down.” The man left.

   “We’re going to have to put a sign in the window. No lottery. No ATM. No cigarettes. What’s wrong with these people?”

   A suited man stepped in. “Can you validate my parking?”

   Joseph picked up the store stamp and opened the ink pad. Anja put her hand in the way. “Sir, you haven’t bought anything.”

   “Fine. You got a Stephen King? Give me one of his paperbacks.”

   “Which one?”

   “It doesn’t matter. It’s for my wife.”

   “Well, which ones has she read?”

   “It doesn’t matter.”

   “Don’t you think it matters to her?”

   “Look, all that matters is that I buy it for her. If it’s the wrong one she can bring it back and get what she wants. But in the mean time, she’s happy I was thinking about her and I get my parking validated.”

   “That’s not how our return policy works.”

   “What happened to Riley? Riley never had a problem with exchanges.”

   “I’m sorry he passed away. I’m the new owner. Was he your friend?”

   “No, he wasn’t my friend. I was his customer. Do you know what a customer is?”

   “Hey!” Joseph snapped.

   “Forget it. I got a meeting.” The suited man left.

    An elderly man came in with his walker. “I hear you have quite a History section.”

  “It’s at the back. Here.” Joseph led him to the back.

   Anja went to the front door, opened it and look out to the rest of the plaza. She watched the people traffic go by. She stepped out to inspect the store sign. She came back in to find the elderly man at the front counter with Joseph and a stack of large coffee table airplane books.

   “You see this? We never got to fly anything like this. Oh, they had some protype somewhere, but that isn’t what they sent us. I was a pilot, and my best friend was a tail gunner. Between you and me, we drank ourselves through the war.” The elderly man turned to Anja. “This has made my day. Look at this.” The elderly man held up a paperback. “This man killed twelve people down south. He was a terrible man. And his crimes were over years and years, and they couldn’t catch him for the longest time. I’ve been looking all over for this book on him. But I could never remember the name of it. And here it is in your shop. I’m going to come here again. Twelve murders. I’m really going to enjoy this book. I’m going to enjoy them all. Have a good day.”

   Joseph helped the elderly man put the books in a carrier at the front of the walker and then held the door. The elderly man left.

    Anja was on the verge of tears.

   “Anja, you alright?”

   “I think we’ve made a mistake. I don’t know if we should have bought this store. I could make this place perfect, Joseph. I know I could. I know it would be the most perfect used bookstore, if it wasn’t for the customers.”

   Joseph nodded and held her.