Re: Second-hand Bookstore: Hannah / Audrey / Marta
Hannah smiled as Audrey spoke about drinks, and she knew in that moment that she'd been right to introduce the two women. Audrey was shy, sweet and giving, and Hannah knew Marta could use people like that in her life. It wasn't even the things Marta had told her about herself, but the way Marta carried herself that let Hannah know that she needed kindness. Hannah knew that look, the one Marta carried with her and through life, and she knew how it felt to need someone to come along and just be nice. It sounded so simple, maybe, and maybe it was simple. But simple things weren't always within arm's reach, and she was glad she'd brought these two together.
Audrey pulled out books as if they were lovers, and Hannah smiled back at Marta.
She too, Hannah, got the feeling that Audrey hadn't dealt with really, really bad things, and that was good. It made Hannah believe there was a good in a world that she'd started to lose faith in. Too trusting by half, that trust had been tarnished with the rust of reality over time, but Audrey was still a shiny penny. And Marta's greeting was soft and meek, and Hannah stood and waited to see if Marta preferred one of Audrey's suggestions over another. And she knew Marta was going to say no. In fact, she would've been really, really surprised if Marta just declared herself desirious of a specific drink.
And she was torn. Sway, sway, uncertainty, because she wanted to respect Marta's choice, but she also knew Marta would always, always say no, and that Marta's rejection didn't actually mean she wasn't thirsty.
Marta touched her sleeve with trembling fingers, and Hannah sat with a puff of sigh. She pushed her drink over, because maybe Marta would be more likely to take something already paid for? As for the books, she glanced at them. "Oh! It's okay. We haven't read the same things," she said, motioning to herself and Audrey. "And we've only met once, so you don't even need to catch up on things we've talked about. Mostly we talked about train rides last time," she offered, opening the conversation there, should anyone want to toe into that door again. "Or we can talk about Christmas?"