Tag: A to Z

Shannon cleaned up the tea, restocking the water from the sink left behind in her old kitchen which had been repurposed as her store entry. While she did that, several more regulars came in and went out. The interruptions of ringing up the outgoing sales, and one purchase of incoming books, extended the cleanup effort, but she refused to give up the task even with exhaustion nibbling at her body. Some of her visitors needed a break from the outside more than books, and she wanted to make sure that the safe space was available for immediate use. It was pushing an hour before Borys rung the bell.

Making her way to the fantasy and science-fiction room, she found he had managed a complete aisle alone. His skills were increasing all the time. Though many of the words escaped him, he knew the alphabet and the sorting rules. As a used bookstore, she didn’t really care if the books were alphabetical by author name or book title or a mixture of the two. So long as there was some semblance of order and the shelves were neat, her customers could find what they wanted. The young man gave her the five books which had stumped his present skill set.

“This is great, Borys.” Shannon went through them. “Three romances in the wrong area. Good eye!” She placed these on her lap, then studied the other two. “This one is Japanese magna. We just added a shelf in the back of the Fantasy room for it. I’ll show you where to put it. And as for this last book, oh yuk, a symbol instead of words. What is this, the author formally-known-as Prince? Let’s open up to the title page and see if that helps. Ah, what is this word here?” She asked, as she walked him through her problem-solving method again. Each time he got a little more. He used to not be able to distinguish between styles of books for sorting, now she rarely found books out of genre when she went through her store after one of Borys’s visit.

“The.”

Shannon moved her finger, and he read each word.

“Lost. Fire. of. Kil … no … Civil-zay-ton.”

“The Lost Fire of Civilization.” Shannon repeated. “And no author name. If you can’t find the name on the cover of the book, sometimes the title page can fill in the blank.” She handed him back the book to put away on his own, which he quickly did, reaching the top shelf easily.

Moving further back in the room, shoving one box to the side with her good foot to get the scooter through, she showed him where the magna went. Borys frowned at the books on the shelf. Colorful pictures but the words were wrong.

“For this section, just put the books on the shelves neatly. Not all of them are in English. You remember the Spanish section?”

Borys nodded, still staring at the offending books. Meanwhile, the entrance bell chimed.

“This is like that. People speak different languages and have different alphabets. Everyone should have something to read, so I have a section for them. Just keep it straight and neat, like they are important too. People who are not like everyone else like it when people treat their stuff nice.”

“I like it too. I like to be treated nice.”

“Yes. And so do I,” Shannon said, reversing her scooter before returning to the front to see who just came in.

Borys stood in front of the manga section a long time before moving to straighten it up.

The End

***     ***     ***

This story (Bookstore Sort) is dedicated to my middle school ice cream (and milk) lady who let a child on the spectrum, back before the spectrum was a thing, keep the milk straight and neat every day during the lunch hour instead of being forced to sit with kids she couldn’t figure out how to talk to or go out to the playground to be bullied. You let me put things in order by date, sort the milks by flavor and percentage, and keep them all square. You let me stand beside the milk area and talk to you day after day. Your small kindness made me feel useful and valued. Thank you for the Christmas gift of a red knitted hat with matching scarf and for being my friend, even though you were an adult and I was twelve. I will always remember you, even if I never learned your name.

***     ***     ***

A to Z Short Story List Breakdown

Rainbow Spectrum (A to F)
Marathon Party (G to M)
Trigger: Cutting (N to Q)

Bookstore Sort (R to T)
4/20/2019 – R is for Ring
4/22/2019 – S is for Seuss
4/23/2019 – T is for Translating and Titles

Next: Panic at the Convention

Returning to the front, she found Judith sipping tea in the comfy chair Shannon kept for guests, Shannon’s favorite mug sat steaming on the little table in the conversation area. She stopped beside it, stirred the liquid, and removed the teabag. “Be right back,” she said before continuing to the counter area where she threw out the bag and then pulled out a box and retrieved a large, thin book.

Placing it on her lap, Shannon grabbed the handlebars of the scooter and made her way back to Judith. “I got a gift for Borys.” She held out the book to Judith.

“You don’t need to…” The woman sputtered while taking the book. “You help me out so much.”

“And you help me, running errands for me when I can’t get out. I really appreciate that.” Shannon shook her head, then tapped the book now held by Mrs. Solomon. “But this one is for Borys. Something he can read, I think. You said first-grade level now, right?”

“Yes, but they frustrate him because all the books available are aimed at kids doing kid things.” Judith looked down at the book. “Bartholomew and the 500 hats? A Doctor Seuss?”

“A fantasy and one of the few books he wrote in prose format.” Shannon took a sip of her tea. “I think that is one of the first fantasies I ever read. A strong male character, an evil nephew, kings, and magic. Plus lots of counting. What’s not to love? Borys adores everything in the fantasy section so I thought he might like this. Something in repayment for him keeping my shelves straight. If he likes that, I will see if I can dig up the sequel, Bartholomew and the Oobleck, which is about as close to Urban Fantasy with Horror overtones as I ever have found in the ‘children’s’ section.”

“I’ll give it to him tomorrow after the doctor visits. So he doesn’t insist on reading it instead of going out to the evaluations.”

Which is why Shannon had given it to her instead of directly to Borys, Judith would know how to work the timing to get the maximum benefit for everyone. “Evaluations?”

“Yes, there is a new center, a new group home, opening up in Mount Holly.” Judith set aside her empty tea cup and closed her eyes a moment, gathering strength, rubbing her arm which showed a light green and yellow bruise. “He is getting too much for me to handle by myself.” Her husband had bailed years back, not able to deal with their son’s problems. “His last evaluation, back when he was 17, the last time a place opened up, records him as too aggressive for this facility, but he has changed in the last few years, calming down now that he is in his twenties. So I’m hoping a new evaluation can get us in the door.”

“That would be great, although I will miss him.” Shannon moved her scooter back as Judith stood. “He really does help me a lot. I can’t get down to fix those bottom selves or reach up to load the top shelves.”

“The home actually comes with a work program and can drive him out.” Mrs. Solomon checked her purse, pulling out her keys, and tucked the Dr. Seuss book under her arm. “They allow families to regularly visit and even take the residents home on weekends. And,” she sighed with relief and cautious hope, “it is covered by his insurance, if the evaluations comes back favorably.”

Shannon followed her to the storefront. “Here’s to tomorrow going well.”

“Being able to run the errands by myself, and him having a day of sorting books, will go a long way to that.” Judith teared up, looking away from the bookstore owner, her hand on the door. “Thank you … I … I will be back about three, I think.”

“You know the number. Just give me half an hour to prep Borys to leave.”

“Thank you.” Mrs. Solomon whispered before sneaking out the door, keeping the small bells over the door from ringing as much as she could.

A to Z Short Story List Breakdown

Rainbow Spectrum (A to F)
Marathon Party (G to M)
Trigger: Cutting (N to Q)

Bookstore Sort (R to T)
4/20/2019 – R is for Ring
4/22/2019 – S is for Seuss
4/23/2019 – T is for Translating and Titles

When the bell over the door tinkled, Shannon took a deep breath through her nose, the oxygen tank filling her lungs, to welcome the customers to her used book store. A tall thin man-boy came in, his body twitching slightly, eyes wide and roaming, followed by a gray-haired woman, also above average height, though shorter than the male, and slim, but much more controlled.

“Hello, Borys. How are you doing Mrs. Solomon?” Shannon smiled at the regulars. “Would you like some tea?”

Borys awkwardly waved his fingers, his eyes dancing all over where Shannon was, from her scooter, to the plastic lines leading from her nose to her tanks, over the cash box and glass front of the counter, but never landing directly on her. He laughed slightly and tucked his head down to his shoulders, acting more five than twenty-five.

“Shannon, I told you to call me Judith.” Mrs. Solomon said absentmindedly, while her son walked sideways to the low countertop, set at level for Shannon on her scooter. Leaning over, he picked up the brass bell with wooden handle there and rung it, laughing confidently and with genuine humor at the clear tone. Watching him, she continued,“I’ll love some tea, but I’m not sure I have time. Maybe, if you could you keep Borys today. I know it is a hassle. But I got to run a lot of errands before tomorrow, which is doctor day, and all that in and out will …” Mrs. Solomon looked at her autistic son, her eyes widening in despair, exhaustion, and defeat. “I’ve tried to get it done in bits and pieces over the last month, but I just couldn’t keep up.”

Moving her scooter around the counter, Shannon waved Judith at the tea makings and electric kettle. “Start the tea while I get Borys settled. I’ll love some Cherry Bomb.” She angled her transportation to come alongside the man-child, making sure he was aware of her approach, and then carefully touched him on the arm not holding the bell. “Hey Borys, you want to help me today?”

He looked down and blinked several times, his wretched interface with the world taking forever to process the question, but Shannon waited patiently, having learned what to expect. “Yes. I would like the red and purple pictures.”

“Fantasy section it is.” She said carefully, letting him watch her mouth as well as hear her words. Once she was certain she had his full attention again, she said, “Follow me,” and maneuvered her scooter around the boxes of books waiting to put onto selves through the wider-than-normal aisles in her bookstore. Most used bookstores crammed every square foot with shelves and boxes, to the point shoppers risked their lives from the overloaded bookshelves toppling, or tripping on the scattered merchandise still needing shelving. Shannon had turned her old two-story house located along a major section of road into a business, not so much to make money as to keep busy. A lift located on the old staircase took her upstairs each night. She left the scooter downstairs and made due with two walking canes upstairs.

Passing the roped-off staircase, Shannon led Borys to her old television room, now the fantasy and science fiction room. “Thank you so much for doing this.”

Borys sat on the floor, putting his head height only slightly below hers sitting on the scooter, and placed the bell beside him. All around him the shelves were stuffed randomly with books, some sideways, backwards, laying on top of others. One or two shelves were half emptied where a patron had discovered a missing author in their collection and bought everything she had. At the end of each aisle lay ratty cardboard containers with used paperbacks and hardcovers waiting to join the mess.

“Ring it when you get to five books you can’t figure out where they go.”

As he did every time, Borys counted to five with his fingers and showed her his hand.

“That’s right.” Shannon did a three-point turn. Afterwards she paused to take a deep breath. “Your mom and I are going to have some tea, and then she is going to leave for a time. You and I are going to have lunch together. Okay?”

After she had finished speaking, the man looked around everywhere but at her, laughing under his breath. Even though she was twice his age, Shannon knew Borys liked her a lot. The damn barrier between him and the world destroyed his ability to be a part of it as much as her COPD kept her close to home with her oxygen tanks. She had to be careful with his emotions, as underneath all that child-like behavior existed a full-grown man, but she needed friends as much as he did.

“Can we have chicken?”

Borys had three meals he liked to eat at her place, hot dogs being the most common request. “I hadn’t been planning on chicken salad sandwiches, but I’ll see what I can scrounge up.” She would need to make a run upstairs, but she thought she had all the makings.

A to Z Short Story List Breakdown

Rainbow Spectrum (A to F)
Marathon Party (G to M)
Trigger: Cutting (N to Q)

Bookstore Sort (R to T)
4/20/2019 – R is for Ring
4/22/2019 – S is for Seuss
4/23/2019 – T is for Translating and Titles