Chapter 85: The First Real Customer
Rosalie:
By the time I finally closed the front door behind the last customer, I couldn’t help letting out a long, exhausted sigh that seemed to carry away every bit of tension that had been building inside me since the afternoon.
The bookstore had never been this lively before, not even according to Grandma Maggie. What began as a carefully planned publicity stunt had somehow transformed into four straight hours of constant activity.
Ever since Eiden left with the two medical books tucked beneath his arm, his followers had practically poured into the bookstore. They all wanted exactly the same thing. They wanted to order the iced lemon tea Alpha Eiden Thorn had drunk. They wanted to sit at the exact same table where he had spent the afternoon reading. They wanted to recreate his photographs and post them on their own social media accounts. Some even politely asked whether I knew which side of the table he had been sitting on so they could face the same direction while taking pictures.
The thought still made me want to laugh. The funny part was that almost every single one of them had curiously inquired about the books he borrowed, only to lose interest the moment I explained they were medical books and one of them wasn’t even written in English. Apparently, reading herbal medicine wasn’t nearly as fashionable as drinking iced lemon tea.
Fortunately, I had prepared more than enough bottles of lemon tea that morning, never imagining the new refrigerator would actually be emptied before sunset. Nearly twenty glasses later, every bottle of lemon tea was gone, my stock of lemons had been reduced to a lonely half fruit, and the sink behind the reception counter was overflowing with dirty glasses, discarded plastic straws, and sticky pitchers waiting to be washed.
Despite the chaos, I couldn’t find it in myself to complain.
Yes, I was physically exhausted. My feet ached from standing behind the counter for hours, and my arms were sore from repeatedly washing glasses, preparing drinks, and serving customers. But emotionally... I felt lighter than I had in weeks.
My plan had worked. Maybe not exactly in the way I had originally imagined, but it had worked far better than I had ever dared hope.
Of course, very few people had actually browsed the bookshelves. Perhaps two or three customers had wandered around the aisles while waiting for their drinks, yet none of them had borrowed or purchased a single book.
Under different circumstances that might have disappointed me. Instead, I found myself smiling. Rome hadn’t been built in a day. Neither would this bookstore. Today’s purpose had never been to sell books. It had simply been to make people aware that this little bookstore existed. To make them curious enough to step inside. That alone had already been accomplished beyond my expectations. The books could wait. Once people started visiting regularly, I would slowly show them everything this place truly had to offer.
As evening settled over Shadow Creek, the lively chatter outside gradually faded away. The sky darkened into deep shades of blue while the streetlamps flickered to life one after another, bathing the quiet road in warm golden light.
With no new customers entering anymore, I finally had the chance to clean up the aftermath. I carried two heavy garbage bags outside before tossing them into the large bin beside the building, then returned inside to begin washing the mountain of used glasses.
Warm water and the scent of lemon soap quickly filled the small washing area. One by one, the crystal glasses regained their shine before I carefully placed them back into their cupboard.
By the time I finished, the bookstore had become wonderfully quiet again. Well... almost quiet.
I was still aware of one remaining customer. A young girl, probably fifteen or sixteen years old, had been wandering through the aisles in the back for the better part of twenty minutes. Unlike everyone else today, she hadn’t ordered the famous lemon tea. She hadn’t taken photographs at Eiden’s table either. Instead, she moved slowly between the shelves with genuine curiosity, occasionally pulling out books or examining different stationery supplies. Whatever had brought her here, it clearly wasn’t social media.
Nearly ten minutes later, while I was slowly mopping the wooden floor near the entrance, I finally heard approaching footsteps. Looking up, I saw the girl making her way toward the reception counter with both arms full. She carefully placed everything onto the polished wooden surface before giving me a polite smile.
"Could you bill these for me, please?" she asked.
For one very embarrassing second, I simply stared at the pile of items in front of her. My very first real customer. Not someone chasing internet trends. Not someone visiting because a famous Alpha had stopped by. An actual customer who intended to buy something from the bookstore. The realization almost made me forget how to speak.
Thankfully, I recovered before making a complete fool of myself.
"Of course," I replied warmly as I hurried behind the counter and began scanning the stationery items one after another. Colored papers. Decorative tapes. Sketch pencils. Fine liners. A set of stickers and designer scissors. My smile widened the more I scanned because every single item had been chosen carefully instead of randomly thrown together. Finally, I reached the last two items. Books. Just as I picked up the first one to scan it, the girl gently stopped me.
"I’m only borrowing those," she explained with an apologetic smile. "I’ll return them by Sunday evening."
"Oh." I immediately nodded, setting the books aside before opening the borrowing system instead. "That’s perfectly fine."
As I finished entering the borrowing details, the girl glanced around the bookstore with obvious admiration.
"I spent the whole weekend searching for stationery for my school project," she said. "Every store I visited had the same boring designs. I almost gave up and decided to buy something simple because I have to submit my project next Monday."
She laughed softly before pointing toward the colorful collection spread across the counter. "Then I saw the crowd outside your bookstore this afternoon and got curious. I thought everyone was here because something exciting had happened." Her smile became brighter. "I’m really glad I came inside. You have so many different things! I actually found more than I was originally looking for."
The excitement in her voice reminded me so much of myself whenever I stepped into a bookstore as a child that I couldn’t stop smiling back at her.
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