WHO: NPC! Mackenzie and Kylie Bell, & Amita Haham WHEN: Tuesday, July 10, morning. WHERE: Wonderlust Books SUMMARY: Mommy is taking forever in the bookstore, so you find your own entertainment, as you do. WARNINGS: Sad Amita.
"What are you looking at Kylie?"
"I love her dress."
Mackenzie turned to look at where her younger sister's gaze was, and Mrs. Haham was behind the counter, doing something with a stack of books, and Mackenzie had to confess that while she thought the dress was a little too bold, it did look really nice on Mrs. Haham. She told her sister as much, and wondered briefly if she went back to the children's books, if they'd have the next Emily book and the chances of getting her mother to buy it rather than tell her 'we'll get it from the library'.
"I think she's sad."
"What?" Mackenzie was pulled back into Kylie's musings.
The younger girl had plopped down in the middle of the book aisle, and she had a picture book on her knees, but she wasn't really looking at it. Instead she was looking at Mrs. Haham, who seemed to not have really noticed that they were looking at her.
"I think she's just busy," Mackenzie told Kylie, but even as she said it she frowned. Mrs. Haham had done book nights for a while, and Mackenzie was old enough that she'd brought Kylie to the last one she'd done last month, so she knew Mrs. Haham well enough to know that she was practically always smiling when she was in the shop. But she wasn't smiling right now, and while Mackenzie could say that was just because she was busy, it didn't quite parse when Mrs. Haham stopped whatever it was she was doing, and seemed to just stare into space out the window.
"Nope." Kylie's short return did not hold much room for argument, and instead of attempting one, Mackenzie plopped down beside her, next to books that promised to make them wiser on the subject of World War II, and criss-cross applesaused next to her. Her elbows went down on her knees as she bent forward.
"Maybe it's because of the window."
"Maybe." Kylie seemed doubtful.
There was still plywood over the window behind her, and Mackenzie knew that a tree had fell during the big storm, just like one had on their garage, and they'd had to get it fixed, but nothing had been in their garage and they rarely used their garage anyway, so it wasn't really a big deal other than being a 'damn nuisance' as their father had said. It wasn't like the bookshop where Mackenzie knew from her mother that Mrs. Haham had lost multiple books in the whole ordeal. So, it seemed plausible.
"I think she has a secret lover."
"No," Mackenzie shook her head at this revelation of her sisters. "That's just ridiculous gossip. Blaze isn't even that much older than me."
Okay, he was a bit older than her. Older enough that he'd never even consider her as a possible girlfriend, even though he was so dreamy. Like Gilbert Blythe maybe, if only they were close enough in age for him to have pulled her hair and called her - well not carrots cause she didn't have red hair, but something.
"She's definitely sad. She's doing that thing mom does when she's sad sometimes the staring into space thing."
That... could not really be argued with. Mackenzie watched her for a moment more. Her 'she's just busy' really only worked as an argument when Mrs. Haham was generally busy. She reached over and gently tweaked Kylie's braid. "You're staring," she told her. "And it's not polite. Come on and let's go back to the children's section and see if we can convince mom to get us books this time."
She got to her feet, and Kylie after a moment did so as well.
"Hello girls!"
Mackenzie glanced up and noticed that Mrs. Haham was staring right at them. "Hi Mrs. Haham," she called back. "Do you have Emily Climbs in stock?"
"Oh, I'm pretty sure I do," and Mrs Haham was out from behind the counter, and she was all smiles and cheerfulness, and one could almost believe one had imagined the quietness from a moment before.