Chapter 1
We had left Woodstock around seven thirty. I finally got a chance to see Willow’s store. It was a very small building, but Willow’s father had handbuilt the shelving and there wasn’t a wasted inch of space that could be devoted to books. She had a wide variety of stock, but she had every book that was advertised in the Whole Earth Catalog. Even the ones that were out of print. Willow, like her father before her, didn’t care if it was used and out of print it was on her shelf. Walden alongside a complete collection of Buckminster Fuller’s books.
If there ever is an apocalypse, get yourself to Woodstock, even if you have to walk. When I first read the Whole Earth Catalog I learned that a person could survive in any environment, if they had the knowledge that the natives had accumulated by living in those environments. Books that explained how to become a Canadian citizen, then move to the Northwest territory claim a piece of land and homestead. How to find water in the desert. How to desalinate water. If society completely disappeared, the Whole Earth Catalog pointed you to the books you would need to survive and even thrive. If you got bored of all that nonfiction, the Whole Earth Catalog included a novel, written down in the righthand page in a little box. "Divine Right’s Trip" was written by Gurney Norman. It was the perfect fit for the book. The book even had a painted VW bus named Urge.
But after the peace and wonder that is Willow’s book store ‘The Rabbit Hole’ we had to get in the car and drive home. That’s when my inner peace induced by the bookstore was smashed by Anais. The only thing that I can say is that the lawmakers are underpaid. I had no idea that they had the time to make up so many traffic laws and apparently, I’d broken all of them as Anais was happy to point out. I wish Lucy had a license because I had seriously considered just signing the car over to her.
I mean really it would be better for the environment, my cash flow, and my general sanity if the thing was just gone. Maybe I could park it around back on the lawn and we could make believe it was a piece of modern art. I’m not sure what as a piece of art it was trying to say. Possibly that I had defended it enough from Anais' barbed observations on its general state. I’m really going to have to coach Amy on the fine art of calling shotgun. She never gets to sit up front when I’m driving, as Anais always calls shotgun first.
In the beginning I enjoyed it, as I could point out that Anais had just shot-gunned herself into the most dangerous seat in the car. That didn’t seem to bother Anais, if she had sat in the back, she might be safer, but she wouldn’t be able to see and comment on each and every mistake, crime or just plain misjudgement I had made after I started the car. One time she started complaining before I even turned the key. I hadn’t checked my mirrors, to make sure I could see through each of them.
I pointed out that I am the only person to drive the car so the mirrors were always set just for me. Apparently it doesn’t matter, rules are rules. Once we got home I needed to unwind. I could have drank a bottle of scotch, but instead I opened my laptop and wrote up notes about our weekend away and ideas I had toward publishing and ebooks in general.
***
It was a sunny and warm day but none of the humidity that was a hallmark of our weekend away in Woodstock. So I was up extra late writing up notes and just had time to grab a cup of tea in the kitchen and say hello to Amy. Before heading down stairs a minute late to open the store. But Lucy already stood in front of the monitor talking to Willow. They were either catching up, or Willow already had a customer for us.
While I waited for them to finish, I walked around the store to see if anything needed attention. It did not, the flagstone floor looked like it not only had been swept but it might even have been washed and polished. When the hell did she have time to do this. Lucy is a great worker, but in a month and a half, she goes back to school. So I’m going to need to hire someone else. Part time during the summer so Lucy can train them but fulltime starting in September.
After my inspection of the store. I went back to the register. Lucy had finished her call, it wasn’t her catching up with her idol, Willow. She’d been taking an order. Now she was already pulling the books that had been ordered. But when she saw me come back to the register, she stopped pulling books.
“So Lucy, how was the weekend?”
“It was good.”
She went over to our laptop, opened an additional virtual desktop. She opened LibreOffice Calc. Our open source spreadsheet program showed me our weekend sales figures. They were thirty one percent higher than normal.
“Wow, did you get a lot of orders from the Rabbit Hole?”
“No Laura, in fact a little less than normal from the Rabbit Hole, no it was the Writers Workshop. Those writers must read more than write, I think everyone of them bought at least ten books apiece from us and maybe five or more each from the Rabbit Hole. How was your trip to Woodstock, what did you think of Willow’s store, did you have fun at the Renaissance Festival?”
“Yes Lucy, writers do read a lot, that’s probably what made them decide to become writers. I was hoping for a bump in sales but I didn’t expect to see such a big one. So these writer workshops not only benefit the writers, they benefit the store as well. That’s great, there is another coming up this weekend. I’m going to be participating as well. So maybe we will need to schedule Lis, fulltime. I will leave that decision up to you. Woodstock was extraordinary, the town, the people and the Renaissance Festival. Before the summer is over you need to go, for at least a weekend. Willow’s store is one of the best parts, it’s tiny compared to ours but it is jam packed with books. Her father was a genius of design, aside from being an excellent artist and a wonderful father. You don’t raise a daughter like Willow, without being a great dad. Now, we need two help wanted posters. A big one to put on the front door and I want you to make a smaller one, the size of a standard piece of paper for the library and maybe a third one for the used bookstore in Saranac.”
“Laura, why not advertise in the Weekly Shopper? I see want ads and job offers in there all the time. Or even Craig’s List. It’s free and a lot more people will see it.”
“Precisely Lucy, that’s why we don’t want to use it. Now think about why that might be and then tell me why only these three locations for the ad.”
She pondered for a few minutes while gathering the supplies she would need to create the signs. When she had everything she needed, she said,
“Laura, I think I know what you are doing. You are using online tracking methods to target your ads at a particular clientele. You want readers to work here, not just someone who is looking for a job. That’s why you avoid the general ad like the Weekly Shopper and Craig’s List, not because there is anything wrong with either of those ad platforms. But because you’ll more likely find someone passionate about books in any of those three locations.”
“That’s it exactly, now when you go to the library to post the page sized ad. Ask Sarah for a book that teaches you the basics of conducting a job interview, what kinds of questions are appropriate and legal. What it is illegal to ask. Then start studying it, after you type up a basic job application form. Because once the ads go up, the job seekers might inquire about a job that very day. So don’t put up the ads until you feel comfortable. Any questions?”
“Yeah, why am I going to be interviewing the new employee? You are the owner, shouldn’t you be doing the interview with them?”
“Who’s going to be training the new employee?”
“I thought you would, but now I’m guessing it’s me?”
“Exactly Lucy, now who is going to be working most closely with them?”
“Me Laura.”
“Right again, who is going to have to fire them if it turns out we are not a good fit?”
“No, Laura I can’t fire people, I’m only an intern.”
“Do you plan to work here until you graduate and go off to college?”
“I do plan to work here but I’m not going to go off to college I don’t think. At least for a couple of years.”
“Lucy, you can’t just skip a couple of years and expect to get into a good school.”
“I’m not planning to, Laura.”
“I’ve been looking into colleges and you are not going to believe this but they are pricey.”
I laughed, “So I’ve heard. So is food but we still need to eat. School is like eating.”
“Laura did you know that Buckminster Fuller got expelled twice from Harvard.”
“Yes Lucy, I remember and he had a hard life for quite a time and he was a scientist, if you are interested in science you can’t look at tech bros like Gates, Jobs or the creepy and evil Zuckerberg. But if you are interested in books, either as a writer or editor or publisher or even just as a reader. You need the time to read, to learn.”
“I’m not talking about not going to college. College costs between twenty five and forty thousand per year plus room and board so if I apply to the cheapest I can find we are talking close to forty thousand a year. But what if I told you I found a college that I can attend with room and board for under seven thousand dollars, for the first two years then after it will take a substantial increase to almost twenty thousand a year.”
“Lucy, I’d say, buyer beware. If a deal looks too good to be true it probably is.”
“Laura, what are your strengths as a bookstore owner and your weaknesses?”
“My biggest weakness is I don’t really care if the store makes any money or not. In fact I have a plan to make less money. My biggest strength is that I loves books and reading and aside from annoying customers, I love my job.”
“Laura, if I want to own a bookstore or really any business, I need some basic business courses. I also need English, writing and Lit and I think some social sciences and some basic computer courses would also be helpful. I want to go to North Country Community College for the first two years, save some money then transfer to either Albany or Plattsburg. After I see which has the strongest liberal arts program. I’d prefer Plattsburg but I’ll pick on which is the best. Right now Chatgpt claims that Plattsburg is better than Albany for a liberal arts degree. But I plan on using the resources available at NCCC to determine that and not trust my education to an AI. Plattsburg would be ideal, as it is a one hour commute in good weather, if I could make arrangements for somewhere to stay a night or two a week in bad weather I could live at home and get an education.”
“So you haven’t put any thought into this at all I see. You are right about the business classes. I wouldn’t even go into the business building on my campus and look how I needed Bianca’s help to keep the collective and store afloat. You know if you are brainstorming an idea, AI can be pretty good help. Lucy, open up Gemini and ask if an employer can pay tuition in place of paying an employee a salary. Then we’ll verify the information if actually correct later with Bianca. But it gives us a place to start from. The advantages as I see it is the government doesn’t get their hands on our money, which means we aren’t helping to pay for ICE or for Trump to attack our neighbors and allies. Or any of the other idiot things he wants to do. You’ll need to talk to your father when he gets home about whether he will let you get a drivers permit”
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
“I have a driver's permit, I just don’t like driving with him, so I never get any practice. Can you teach me to drive?”
“No, as I was painfully reminded every mile I drove from Woodstock to Lake Placid, I am a terrible driver and I know none of the traffic laws. Nope I can’t teach you but I have the perfect teacher for you. She is so annoying you will apply yourself just so you can pass the test and get her out of the car. Give me just a second.”
I dug out my cell phone and called her.
“Hi Anais, how are you doing, yes very funny Anais. But it is funny that you mention my driving. Lucy is going to need to get to Saranac on a regular basis so she asked me if I could teach her to drive. Now you know all the traffic laws so I was wondering if I need to go to the DMV and get some kind of instructor sticker or am I just good to teach her to drive like me. Are you sure? You don’t have to do that. Alright if that’s what you want to do.”
“She’ll be here in fifteen minutes, I’ll go upstairs and get the keys to my car.”
“Laura, you knew she was going to offer to teach me, didn’t you?”
“Yep, as soon as I said I was going to teach you to drive just like me, she said she would teach you.”
I went up to my room and grabbed my keys. We hadn’t gotten too far hiring someone. But we can work on that this afternoon. I was just coming down the stairs into the store when Anais arrived. I handed Lucy my keys.
“No Laura, we are not taking your death trap.”
“Then I’ll teach her myself, Anais, this is the company car. It’s what she is going to be driving most of the time. It is what she’ll take her test in, it’s just plain dumb to train her in a different car. My car was just inspected. It went from here to Woodstock and back without a hiccup. You probably just plan to drive around town anyway. So if it breaks down you don’t worry about it.”
“Fine. Let’s go Lucy.”
She grabbed my keys from Lucy, she was probably going to make Lucy follow some preflight checklist. I was sorry for putting Lucy in this situation but Anais loves being useful and truth be told she probably is a better driver than me. Lucy is a hard worker. But Anais as a driving instructor will make her take her hard work to another level. At least it would for me. With any luck at all she’ll take it easy on Lucy, maybe she’s tired from her critique of my driving skills from yesterday.
I wonder if I could duck up the stairs for another cup of tea, but just as I’m about to head up the stairs, a customer comes in and a video bell chimed, I was being paged by the Rabbit Hole. I ignored the customer. It’s a bookstore, browsing is the most fun you can have in a bookstore besides reading and the book nook is clearly labeled a try before you buy area.
I answered the video, “Hi Willow, how’s everything, did life go back to normal?”
“Kinda, maybe a new normal. I think Phoebe is moving in or at least taking long vacations at the salvage yard.”
“How do Pappy and Fred feel about that?”
“Pretty dang great I think, they both were floating about six inches off the floor this morning when I saw them.”
“How do you feel about that?”
“I’m happy for them?”
“You are happy for them but?”
“Laura, I am happy for them and of course I’m relieved that Pappy is not going to prison. It just feels like things won’t be the same anymore if you know what I mean.”
“I do, Willow, I do. But sometimes change can be a good thing. When Bianca said she wanted my bookstore to team up with your bookstore, I was kinda on the fence about it. I didn’t know you, would I even like you. Now after just a few weeks you feel like family to me. Maybe it’ll go that way with you and Phoebe. One thing I know for sure is that you love Pappy, so you want him to be happy. Hopefully after fifty six years they can be happy. But they’ll never know, unless they try. There might be an upside in it for you too.”
“What’s that?”
“Well she has the Renaissance Festival from late spring till early fall so she’ll need work the rest of the year and if she is with Pappy then you know you can trust her. So you could spend more time here in Lake Placid. If we do publish that protesting ebook it would be helpful.”
“Laura, I wasn’t sure you were serious about that. I thought you were just saying that to get the yippies to talk.”
“No Willow, I was, I am dead serious. This country is in such a mess, I’m ashamed to be born here. ICE agents just shoot down people in the street. I won’t and can’t support that. Every dime of profit this store makes is going to be turned right back into the store. Lucy told me her college plan, so I’m going to put her on a salary and pay as much as I can toward her tuition as possible, without causing her to pay tax on the money. Her salary is going to be exactly what the government thinks is the poverty line. If Trump and Musk can not pay any income tax then we sure can too. But there I go on another rant. Yes I very much want to keep all of our protestors safe. So I want to edit together a guide to safe nonviolent protest. You have two yippies sitting on your doorstep, so I will really need your help motivating them. They are yippies after all. Plus they are old, so I would imagine they will need tech support as well.”
“I’ll be happy to help, Laura. Is Lucy right there with you?”
“No, she’s out for a driving lesson with Anais. But I will have her call you when she gets back.”
“No, I just wanted to make sure that she wasn’t listening to this. Did it come in yet? No, not until later today according to the tracking app.”
“You could have saved the shipping if you had bought it at Amazon.”
“I don’t care, I am not doing business with any of the crew that sat behind Trump at his inauguration and I got a better price from Newegg so paying a little bit more is fine.”
“What about google? They sat behind Trump.”
“Yeah, I hardly ever use google, I use duckduckgo. For email proxy, for search and even for private AI now.”
“Sorry, Laura I have to go, a couple of customers just came in. Talk soon.”
“Bye, honey.”
Hmm, I had a customer too. I went walking around the store to see if I could help the customer. But they had found the reading nook, and had settled in for a try before you buy, readathon. They had five books piled on the coffee table in front of them.
“Would you like a cup of tea?” I asked.
“Really? Sure that would be great.”
“I have to go upstairs to get it, so I’ll need to put in the milk and sugar for you if you want it?”
“Yes, please, no milk and just one sugar.”
“Sure, I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
I went to the kitchen and Amy was baking bread. I turned on the kettle and took out a cup and saucer for me and a paper to go cup for the customer.
“That smells great Amy. What are we having for dinner?”
“Fresh baked bread, vegan stew, tart cherry pie with home made whipped cream. Pappy gave me the recipe for the stew. He said it was one of his and Fred’s favorites. I hope everyone likes it.”
“Amy, if it tastes half as good as it smells, everyone will love it. I’m so glad you retired and came to work here. Guess what, Anais is giving Lucy a driving lesson.”
“How did that come about?”
“I called Anais for advice on how to best teach Lucy how to drive? She was here ten minutes later. Said she didn’t want another driver as bad as I am, driving around in Lake Placid. If she wasn’t teaching Lucy, I’d be offended.”
Amy laughed, “Well Laura, you do know that you are not a very good driver.”
“Yeah, I know. But at least you don’t sit in the back seat and comment on every single thing that I do wrong. Driving is a skill, the more you do it the better you’ll be. Only idiots own vehicles in NYC unless they absolutely need a car for some reason. There are plenty of ways to get around without a car, taxi’s, buses, trains and now uber too.
The kettle clicked. So I fixed the tea and carried them back down to the store. But when I arrived back in the book nook with the tea. The man and his pile of books were gone. I guess he didn’t want his tea after all. So I went back over to the counter. I saw an envelope laying behind the register. It was sealed and had a note written in a neat hand inside along with one hundred dollars. The note said. Sorry but work called just after you went to make tea. So I have to leave. I’m taking these five books. Here is the money. You have a lovely store. I hope to be back soon and I hope it is alright to do it this way.
Anais and Lucy walked in. Lucy was smiling. It seemed sometimes that Anais never smiled, but she wasn’t scowling. So that was something.
“So how did it go?” I asked.
“Anais is very patient.” Lucy replied
“Funny, I never once in all the years, I’ve known her thought of her as having an iota of patience. Would one of you like a tea with one sugar? I made it for a customer but he had to leave before I got back.”
“He probably carried off half your stock while you were busy making him tea.”
“Yes he had a pile of five books with him in the reading nook and they were gone when I came back with his tea.”
“See, leaving a customer to wander in your store while you make them tea, your lucky you still have a register left. This is almost as bad as inviting that yippie here, when she was still your suspect.”
“Well, the yippie worked out fine as did the man who had to leave. He wrote me a note with a list of the books he took and a hundred dollars, so we actually owe him. He didn’t even have fifty dollars worth of books.”
