The Best Gift

“I don’t consider Turning Leaves small stuff,” he said stiffly, sounding uncharacteristically pompous and self-righteous even to his own ears. This woman just brought out the worst in him.

“I didn’t say it was. I was referring to your ground rules. I don’t want to get hung up on making a lot of guidelines that may not be necessary. Let’s just work things out as we go along. And before you know it, the six months will zip right by.”

The bell jangled over the door, and A.J. turned her attention to the customer who had just entered. “Oh, look at that darling little girl!”

Blake glanced at the young mother and her child. The toddler looked to be about four, and she was clutching a glazed donut. Which translated to sticky fingers— and sticky merchandise. He started forward, then stopped. The house rules said no food in the shop. But he had a feeling the house rules were about to go out the window.

Blake sighed. It was going to be a long six months.

“I’d like to start closing the shop on Sundays.”

Blake stared at A.J. as if she’d lost her mind. Their first week as partners had been remarkably smooth. She was an eager learner, and Blake was beginning to think that maybe this arrangement would work out after all. Until she’d dropped this bombshell.

“Excuse me?”

She looked up from the catalog of new releases she was perusing. “I’d like to close the shop on Sundays.”

“Why? We’re always busy on Sunday.”

“I’ve studied the traffic and sales data. We do have a lot of window-shoppers on Sunday. But it’s not one of our bigger sales days. And we’re only open for five hours, anyway. I don’t think we’ll notice much impact on our bottom line.”

This was exactly the kind of impetuous action that Blake had been afraid of. Out of the corner of his eye he caught Nancy observing the exchange, and he took a deep breath before responding.

“I don’t think changing the hours is a good idea. Everyone else on the street is open on Sunday. Our customers will be disappointed.”

“We can change our phone message and have a sign with our new hours made for the window. People will adjust.”

He raked his fingers through his hair. “Why is this such a big deal? Sunday hours are convenient for our customers and we always have enough sales to justify being open.”

A.J. closed the catalog and looked at him steadily. “My main reason for wanting to close has nothing to do with sales or with customers. Sunday is the Lord’s day. A day of rest. A day to keep holy. A store like ours that sells nonessential items doesn’t need to be open.”

Blake stared at her. “You’re kidding.”

Her gaze didn’t waver. “Do I look like I’m kidding?”

He tried a different approach. “Jo was very religious. And she was open on Sunday.”

“When did she start opening on Sunday?”

“A couple of years ago.”

About the time he took over the day-to-day management of the shop. Neither voiced that thought, but it hung in the air.

“Did she work in the shop that day?” A.J. asked.

“No.”

“Who did?”

“Nancy and I alternated.”

A.J. glanced over at Nancy. She didn’t know the part-time worker very well yet, but she’d learned enough to know that the divorced mother had a tough life, that she juggled two part-time jobs just to make ends meet, and that she was a churchgoing woman with a quiet, deep faith.

“How do you feel about it, Nancy?” A.J. asked.

Nancy looked uncertainly from A.J. to Blake, then back again. “I need the job, A.J. I’ll be happy to work whatever hours you and Blake give me.”

A.J. smiled. “I already know that, Nancy. That’s not what I’m asking. How do you feel about working on Sundays?”

“Well, the money is nice.” She hesitated. “But it’s always a rush to get here after church, and then I have to leave Eileen with Mrs. Cook all afternoon. I guess, if I had a choice, I’d prefer to have Sundays off so I could spend a little more time at church and with my daughter. Six days of work ought to be enough for anyone. Even God rested on the seventh day.”

Blake stared at Nancy. “You never said anything to me about not wanting to work on Sundays.”

“I didn’t think it was an option.”

He expelled a frustrated breath. “Okay, fine. I don’t mind working. We can surely find someone to fill in every other weekend for those few hours.”

“I’m sure we can, Blake,” A.J. replied calmly. “But that’s not the point. I’m talking about principles here. And if you’re worried about losing sales, I’m sure we can find a way to make up the difference.”

“Such as?”

“I’m working on it.”

He looked at her, and the determination in her eyes told him that she was dead set on this. He didn’t agree, but he wasn’t sure it was worth waging a major battle over. Yes, they’d lose some sales. But she was right. The decision wouldn’t make or break the shop. Besides, he suspected there would be bigger battles to fight down the road. Maybe the best strategy was to let her win this one.

“Okay. If that’s what you want. I just hope you don’t regret it,” he capitulated.

“I don’t waste my time on regrets, Blake. They’re all about the past. I try to focus on today and make the best decisions I can.”

“Well, it wouldn’t hurt to think a little bit about tomorrow, too.”

A shadow crossed her eyes, so fleeting that he thought perhaps it was just the play of light as she turned her head. “Tomorrow has a way of surprising us, no matter what we plan,” she said quietly.

Blake didn’t know what to make of that comment. So he simply turned away and headed back to the office.

Nancy watched him go, then moved to the counter beside A.J. “I applaud your position.”

A.J. turned to her with a rueful smile. “I’m glad someone does.”

“Don’t mind Blake. It’s been a hard transition for him. He and Jo went way back, and he took her death pretty hard. Plus, he’s more or less run the shop for the past couple of years, so having a partner is a big adjustment for him. But he’s a great guy when you get to know him. He’s really conscientious, and you won’t ever meet a kinder, more considerate person. He even came over to my apartment one night last winter at three in the morning when I was worried about Eileen, and then drove us to the emergency room.”

A.J. frowned. Were they talking about the same Blake? She didn’t doubt the conscientious part, but kind and considerate? She hadn’t seen much evidence of those qualities.

When A.J. didn’t immediately respond, Nancy smiled knowingly. “You’ll find out after you get to know him. But what I really wanted to ask was if you’d like to join me for church on Sunday. After your comments about closing, I figured you must be in the habit of attending church, and since you’re new in town I wasn’t sure if you’d had a chance yet to find a place to worship. We have a great congregation, and our minister is wonderful. You’d be welcomed warmly.”

In fact, A.J. was in the habit of weekly worship, but so far she’d been too busy settling in to have a chance to seek out a new church. Nancy’s invitation was perfectly timed. “Thank you. That would be great.”

Blake came out from the office, but on his way back to the front counter, he was waylaid by a customer. Nancy glanced his way.

“I’ve invited Blake a few times, too, but so far I haven’t had any luck,” she offered, lowering her voice.

A.J. thought about his comments to her when she’d mentioned God. “He doesn’t strike me as a religious man.”

“I think he believes in God. But he wasn’t raised in a religious environment. It’s hard to convince someone who is so self-reliant that the plans we make for our life don’t always match God’s. Blake’s kind of a loner, and he’s so used to relying only on himself that I just don’t think he’s willing to put his life in anyone else’s hands. Even God’s.”

A.J. looked over at the tall, dark-haired man deep in conversation with a customer. He was angled slightly away from her, and she had a good view of his profile— strong chin, well-shaped nose, nicely formed lips. Self-reliance was a good thing in moderation. A.J. knew that from personal experience. But she couldn’t imagine taking it to such an extreme that she shut other people out of her life. Especially God. It would be a very empty existence.

Suddenly Blake glanced at her, almost as if he knew she was watching him. Their gazes met, and whatever he saw in hers—curiosity, sympathy, or a combination of both—brought a frown to his face. She responded with a smile. And even though he didn’t physically move, she felt almost as if he’d taken a step back. And posted a sign saying Private. No Trespassing.

A.J. didn’t really care if he kept his distance. Their relationship was destined to be short-lived, anyway. But she wasn’t used to having her gestures of friendship so openly rebuffed. She turned back to find Nancy watching the exchange.

“Blake doesn’t let too many people get close,” Nancy noted. “Even I don’t know much about his background, and we’ve worked together for almost two years.”

A.J. shrugged. “I respect people’s privacy. If he wants to shut people out, it doesn’t matter to me.”

But as she headed to the back room to check the new inventory, she realized that her answer hadn’t been quite honest. Because in that brief, unguarded moment, before his barriers had slipped back into place, she’d glimpsed in Blake’s eyes a stark loneliness that had touched her deep inside.

And even though they were practically strangers, even though he clearly resented her presence at Turning Leaves, even though he disapproved of almost everything she did, that loneliness troubled her. More than she cared to admit.

And she had no idea why.

“So…what do you think?”

Blake had only been gone from the shop for four days. Just a quick trip to Cincinnati to compete in a triathlon over Thanksgiving weekend. But if he’d been gone three weeks, the shop couldn’t have changed more dramatically.

He stood rooted just inside the door of the office, trying to absorb the changes that had been wrought in his absence. Gone was the table of featured books and the greeting card rack that had been just inside the display window on the left. Now the four chairs from the reading nook were arranged there, and a low, square table that he didn’t recognize was placed in front of them, with a small pot of copper-colored chrysanthemums in the center. Two chairs were on one side of the table, facing the window, with the others at right angles on the adjacent two sides. A couple of the chairs were occupied, and one of the patrons was helping himself to a cup of coffee from the coffee and tea maker that had also been moved to the front of the shop. Blake recognized him as a regular, though not someone who usually bought much.

“Well?” A.J. prompted.

Slowly, Blake turned to his partner. Her eyes were sparkling with excitement, but he could also sense some trepidation. She knew him well enough even after only a couple of weeks to realize that he didn’t like sudden, unplanned changes.

“What happened to the display table? And the cards?”

“The table’s in the back room. I moved the cards closer to the checkout counter.” She gestured over her shoulder.

He planted his fists on his hips and studied the new arrangement. It was attractive enough. But it changed the dynamics of the shop entirely. And it definitely cut down on display space.

“What did you do with the old reading nook?”

“Come see.”

She led him to the back corner, which had been transformed into a small enclosure complete with blocks, vinyl books and an assortment of toys. He frowned and looked at her questioningly. “What’s this?”

“A play area. A lot of people come in here with toddlers and young children, and it’s pretty difficult to look through books when you’re juggling a little one. Now they can safely leave their children here to play while they make their selections.”

He grunted in response.

“Several mothers have already commented on how much they like this.” There was a slight defensive note in her voice.

“And what about the area in front? You’ve lost a lot of display space. That sells books.”

“So does atmosphere. When people walk by and see patrons relaxing and enjoying themselves through the window, they might be more inclined to come in and look around. Besides, the other reading nook wasn’t being used much. The light wasn’t very good, and it was so tucked away a lot of people missed it. But it makes a perfect play spot.”

Before he could respond, the bell on the front counter rang. The regular patron Blake had noticed in the new sitting area was waiting to purchase a large coffee-table book.

“Morning, folks,” he said cheerily as they joined him.

“Good morning.” A.J. reached for the book and started to ring up the sale while Blake retrieved a bag from under the counter.

The older man took a sip of his coffee. “By the way, my compliments on the new reading area. Never did like that one stuck back in the corner. Not enough light for these old eyes. This one is real cheerful and bright.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Blake saw A.J. give him a sidelong glance, but he kept his gaze averted. “Thank you. We hope you’ll come back soon.”

“You can count on it. Thanks again.”

They watched as the man exited, the bell jangling as the door closed behind him. Blake knew A.J. was looking at him. Waiting for him to compliment her on what she’d done, especially in light of the customer’s unsolicited approval. But he didn’t want to encourage her. Change was fine, as long as it was planned. And carefully thought out. And discussed. But he had a real issue with spur-of-the-moment changes. Because in his experience, most of the time they weren’t good ones.

“I saw some new inventory in the back when I got here. I’ll log it in,” he said.

He turned to go, but her voice stopped him. “Did you have a nice Thanksgiving?”

He’d been expecting a comment on the new layout, so it took him a moment to switch gears…and formulate an answer. He’d spent most of Thanksgiving Day training for the triathlon, then he’d eaten a frozen turkey dinner at home. He’d been on the road early the next morning for Cincinnati, spent Saturday competing, then drove home Sunday. His parents had invited him to visit for the holiday, of course. They always did. And, as always, he’d refused. But A.J. didn’t need to know any of that. “Yes,” he replied briefly. “How about you?”

She smiled. “I had a great Thanksgiving. I don’t know anyone here, so I joined a group from Nancy’s church to help feed the homeless downtown. And we got a great turkey dinner in the bargain.”

He frowned. Dishing up food for a bunch of down-and-out strangers didn’t sound like a great holiday to him. It hit too close to home. His parents had never resorted to a homeless shelter, but they’d come close a few times. “Don’t you have family?” Hadn’t Jo mentioned several great-nieces? But he couldn’t recall any details.

“My parents are both gone. But I have two sisters. They’re too far away to visit for such a short holiday. We’ll make up for it at Christmas, I hope.” She’d talked to them both, of course. Morgan had actually gone to work in the morning, then out to dinner with friends. And Clare had somehow managed to wrangle a holiday dinner invitation to the same place Dr. Wright and his daughter were going. There was no stopping Clare when she set her mind to something, A.J. thought with a grin. “What about you, Blake? Any family?”

Slowly he shook his head. “No brothers or sisters. My parents live in Oregon.”

“Also too far away for Thanksgiving. Maybe you can see them at Christmas.”

Not likely, Blake thought. But she didn’t need to know that. He started to turn away, but suddenly found himself speaking. “By the way, I like what you did with the shop.”

A.J. looked as surprised by the comment as he was. He had no idea where those words had come from. He’d certainly had no intention of complimenting her. But she rewarded him with a dazzling smile. “Thank you.”

Suddenly Blake felt as if he’d just hit the proverbial runner’s wall. It was a familiar experience that squeezed the breath out of his lungs and left him feeling limp when it occurred at about the twenty-one mile mark of a marathon.

But the only thing racing right now was his heart.

Which made no sense.

And it made him want to run as fast as he could away from this red-haired source of disruption in his life.

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