Andrew stood in the Reading Room’s doorway. How had so many people squashed into such a small space? The heat from the tightly packed bodies hit him like a wave as he stepped into the store. It was hot, humid, and loud. He felt like he had walked into a rain forest instead of a retail store in downtown North Vancouver. The rumble of what seemed to be hundreds of voices, but was probably closer to fifty, nearly deafened him. He stood for a moment to allow his eyes to adjust to the dim light and looked around for Casey, finally locating her copper curls bouncing frantically on the other side of the cash desk. She looked up and waved. A surprised but pleased light in her eyes as she saw him at the doorway. She immediately turned back to help a customer.
She wouldn’t be so pleased when he finished talking to her. His lips tightened momentarily, his expression was bleak.
Making his way slowly across the crowed room, he tried not to step on any toes. It was proving to be very difficult.
Finally he reached the cash desk. The line was three customers deep all the way around. People were buying books, asking for information, handing in some sort of card or trying to get a coffee.
Casey turned and saw him over the crowd. She smiled weakly and pushed her sweat-dampened hair off her hot forehead.
“I need to talk to you.” Andrew raised his voice to be heard over the crowd.
Casey looked at him in astonishment. With a wave of her hand she indicated the people lined up to be served. The look in her eyes asked him if he was crazy.
“It’s important.” He tried to get her attention again. Frustrated, he attempted to push his way in closer to Casey. A little old lady with a cane elbowed him in the gut. Andrew let out a grunt as she hit his still tender rib.
“Yes it is!” She yelled back obviously misunderstanding. Her voice sounded hoarse from yelling all morning. Her expression was frazzled. She made the sign for a phone call, indicating that he should call her later and turned back to help another customer.
Andrew made one last attempt; He raised his voice even louder. “Casey, I have to go…” she had turned away as Gail’s excited face appeared as if by magic at Casey’s side. She was gesticulating wildly and pointing to the storeroom. Casey’s face broke into a huge grin; she excused herself from the customers, indicating with one finger that she would just be a moment. She turned and smiled in his direction, waved and indicated the phone before rushing back to the storeroom.
Frustrated, Andrew stood and stared after her for long minutes. Memorizing the look of her... An annoyed frown darkened his brow; she had to listen to him. He should be just as important as this damned bookstore, just as important as whatever it was that she had rushed off with Gail for… if their week together meant anything to her…. He took a deep breath to calm down. He knew it was just his frustration talking, the bookstore was her life and she obviously didn’t know what he needed to talk to her about, didn’t know how serious it was. Looking at his watch he gave a frustrated sigh. He had to go. He didn’t want to leave without talking to her, but short of dragging her kicking and screaming across the floor, it obviously wasn’t going to happen.
Andrew ran his hand through his hair and rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to decide what he should do. A note was too impersonal, too Dear John-ish. He might be able to get to a call later, if she'd charged her cell. He hated to tell her that way but it was starting to look like his only option. And he would just have to hope she’d understand.
With a last lingering look at the space where, moments earlier, she had disappeared from he turned and left the store. The bell jingled a tinkling farewell as the door closed behind him.
**********