She got up, fed the demanding cat, and then went to work. She unpacked and shelved her new stock. She placed next week’s order and spent an hour on hold with her phone company to complain about having Internet only in the western half of the store. Afterward, a customer came in and spent half an hour walking the aisles and occasionally lifting a book up and looking to Aubrey. “What’s this one about?” Aubrey had ceased to be surprised about the fact that people actually assumed she’d read every book in the store. She’d also learned that the people who browsed the way this woman did almost always left without actually buying a book at all, so she’d started amusing herself by making up plots on the spot. Still on hold with the phone company, she covered the receiver and said, “That one’s about an alien who comes to the Wild, Wild West.” The woman nodded and put the book back. One aisle later, she picked up another.
