Ch.4a: Toby
Cassie entered the bookstore, let the door close behind her, and stood still for a moment to savor the air conditioning. There was no one at the front counter, so she set herself loose in the store. No magazine rack was in sight, but she reasoned that a used bookstore might put the magazines farther back in the store than a regular bookstore would. Pleased with her deductive powers, she made her way slowly through the shop.
Before she had quite reached the back room, the salesclerk emerged and found her perusing the shop’s one shelf of young adult literature. “Hello! Can I help you find anything?”
“Well, actually I was looking for the magazines.”
“Oh! Well, you won’t find them there with the books. Do you want me to show you our glorious collection of historical used magazines?”
What an unusual salesperson, thought Cassie. He was only a little older than she was, a little geeky-looking but not badly so, with very short brown hair and twinkling eyes. Surprisingly, he spoke with a New York accent. Maybe all New Yorkers used weird big words like “glorious.” However, more importantly, he was teasing her! Unsure how to respond, Cassie tried to appear composed: “Yes, please. I would like to see the magazines.”
“Follow me, miss,” he said officiously. He led her into the back room of the store, straight to a cardboard box on the floor. “This is our selection of vintage magazines. Can I interest you in a 1985 Field & Stream, or possibly this classic Better Homes & Gardens from 1978?”
Cassie sneezed. As the cheeky salesclerk pulled out one magazine after another, the dust visibly rose in the air. Then he sneezed too. He laughed and asked, “Do you really want one of these magazines, or should we get out of here before we start choking?” Cassie shook her head and backed out the door. She checked her watch: still twenty minutes before she was due to meet Maggie.
“I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist showing you our magazines. Are you all right? I haven’t, like, given you an asthma attack, have I?”
Cassie shook her head and tried not to cough, but failed.
“Damn. Here, there’s a chair over here. Sit down, and I’ll get you a glass of water.”
Grateful for any excuse to sit, Cassie sank into the comfortable old chair. When the young man arrived with the water, she said, “Thank you. I was really hoping for last September’s Young Miss, but I’m happy just to sit down. I’m all right, really.” She paused, then hurriedly added, “My name’s Cassie.”
“Cassie, I’m Toby. Pleased to meet you,” he replied, and shook her hand firmly and warmly.
“Are all used book sellers like you?”
“I sincerely hope not!” he said in mock horror, then looked a little sheepish. “I haven’t been doing this long. I hope I haven’t scared you away.”
Cassie smiled a little. “No, I don’t think so, yet.”
He brightened. “So, the September issue of Young Miss. We don’t have it, but let me see if I can recreate it for you.” He gave a dramatic pause before continuing. “Back to school 2002! What’s hot, what’s NOT. Celebrity back-to-school wardrobes. Celebrity style for gym shoes. The best hairstyle for your face shape! An interview with someone blonde. Recipes for a healthy lunch box. Ten ways to get boys’ attention. And of course a quiz: Which TV back-to-school girl are you?” He grinned.
Cassie flushed. “I suppose Field & Stream is deeper?”
“Well, those streams can get down to six feet or so. But really, you don’t need some special month of Young Miss any more than I need the August 1985 Field & Stream, or even, you know, a hole in my head. But I’m not trying to insult you, my sister reads stuff like that too, and it’s fine as long as you don’t take it too seriously. I just get bored here, and you’re only, like, the third customer this afternoon.”
“Well, I’m glad I could entertain you and I didn’t choke to death or something on the dust back there. Uh, but I have to go. I’m meeting my dad’s girlfriend. Thanks for the water!”
“You’re welcome. Next time maybe I can help you find something without making you sick.” He walked her to the door. The heat outside smacked her across the body. She looked back, but Toby was already gone.
“What a strange guy,” she thought, but she also thought it was nice to have had a conversation with someone besides Maggie or Brad. Cassie had never been sought after by boys, but there were no mysterious or even cool ones around anyway. Maybe in Miami she would meet someone cool, and they’d go to all the coolest clubs together and have fights and make up. Maybe she’d break up with him and he’d go out with some tramp, but then he’d realize he only ever loved Cassie.
Exactly as she reached the aerobics studio, Maggie emerged, sweating and smiling. They phoned Brad to find out what he wanted for dinner, and they bought take-out and brought it home in the taxi.
Before she had quite reached the back room, the salesclerk emerged and found her perusing the shop’s one shelf of young adult literature. “Hello! Can I help you find anything?”
“Well, actually I was looking for the magazines.”
“Oh! Well, you won’t find them there with the books. Do you want me to show you our glorious collection of historical used magazines?”
What an unusual salesperson, thought Cassie. He was only a little older than she was, a little geeky-looking but not badly so, with very short brown hair and twinkling eyes. Surprisingly, he spoke with a New York accent. Maybe all New Yorkers used weird big words like “glorious.” However, more importantly, he was teasing her! Unsure how to respond, Cassie tried to appear composed: “Yes, please. I would like to see the magazines.”
“Follow me, miss,” he said officiously. He led her into the back room of the store, straight to a cardboard box on the floor. “This is our selection of vintage magazines. Can I interest you in a 1985 Field & Stream, or possibly this classic Better Homes & Gardens from 1978?”
Cassie sneezed. As the cheeky salesclerk pulled out one magazine after another, the dust visibly rose in the air. Then he sneezed too. He laughed and asked, “Do you really want one of these magazines, or should we get out of here before we start choking?” Cassie shook her head and backed out the door. She checked her watch: still twenty minutes before she was due to meet Maggie.
“I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist showing you our magazines. Are you all right? I haven’t, like, given you an asthma attack, have I?”
Cassie shook her head and tried not to cough, but failed.
“Damn. Here, there’s a chair over here. Sit down, and I’ll get you a glass of water.”
Grateful for any excuse to sit, Cassie sank into the comfortable old chair. When the young man arrived with the water, she said, “Thank you. I was really hoping for last September’s Young Miss, but I’m happy just to sit down. I’m all right, really.” She paused, then hurriedly added, “My name’s Cassie.”
“Cassie, I’m Toby. Pleased to meet you,” he replied, and shook her hand firmly and warmly.
“Are all used book sellers like you?”
“I sincerely hope not!” he said in mock horror, then looked a little sheepish. “I haven’t been doing this long. I hope I haven’t scared you away.”
Cassie smiled a little. “No, I don’t think so, yet.”
He brightened. “So, the September issue of Young Miss. We don’t have it, but let me see if I can recreate it for you.” He gave a dramatic pause before continuing. “Back to school 2002! What’s hot, what’s NOT. Celebrity back-to-school wardrobes. Celebrity style for gym shoes. The best hairstyle for your face shape! An interview with someone blonde. Recipes for a healthy lunch box. Ten ways to get boys’ attention. And of course a quiz: Which TV back-to-school girl are you?” He grinned.
Cassie flushed. “I suppose Field & Stream is deeper?”
“Well, those streams can get down to six feet or so. But really, you don’t need some special month of Young Miss any more than I need the August 1985 Field & Stream, or even, you know, a hole in my head. But I’m not trying to insult you, my sister reads stuff like that too, and it’s fine as long as you don’t take it too seriously. I just get bored here, and you’re only, like, the third customer this afternoon.”
“Well, I’m glad I could entertain you and I didn’t choke to death or something on the dust back there. Uh, but I have to go. I’m meeting my dad’s girlfriend. Thanks for the water!”
“You’re welcome. Next time maybe I can help you find something without making you sick.” He walked her to the door. The heat outside smacked her across the body. She looked back, but Toby was already gone.
“What a strange guy,” she thought, but she also thought it was nice to have had a conversation with someone besides Maggie or Brad. Cassie had never been sought after by boys, but there were no mysterious or even cool ones around anyway. Maybe in Miami she would meet someone cool, and they’d go to all the coolest clubs together and have fights and make up. Maybe she’d break up with him and he’d go out with some tramp, but then he’d realize he only ever loved Cassie.
Exactly as she reached the aerobics studio, Maggie emerged, sweating and smiling. They phoned Brad to find out what he wanted for dinner, and they bought take-out and brought it home in the taxi.
Labels: Cassie
posted by Margo at 11:07 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home