Dollar Store Book Haul

August 1, 2024 Amy19 Comments

I found myself at the dollar store this week, and it’s a really nice one. By that, I mean they have notebooks. I go through notebooks like people go through tissues. That’s just how it works when I work. Now is the time to get the notebooks because now it is back to school season. They also have 2025 calendars out, and although all of these things used to be one dollar, now they range from $1.25 to $1.50. One cool thing I know about the dollar store is there’s a little section of hardback and paperback books. I don’t know where these books come from, but they’re not books I’ve ever heard of. Yet, sometimes, you can find a real gem. For $1.50, it’s worth the splurge. If you’ve been to the book section of the dollar store, you know you have to dig through all of the titles and there are numerous duplicates, so digging is mandatory. I know you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but I always do. If the cover is iffy, I read the title next. If I still can’t get a grasp, I open it up and read the first couple pages. That’s how I decide if I want to purchase a book or not, or even if I want to borrow one from the library. So here I am in the little bookshelf of the dollar store sifting through all of the books when I find one that raises my eyebrow. The cover is absolutely hilarious – Telenovela style. The title is even better – The Good Girl’s Guide to Rakes.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t even crack it open to see what it was about. It’s evident to me that it’s a users’ guide aimed at women who may not be familiar with garden shed tools. Sometimes people don’t know the difference between a rake and a hoe and it’s very important to be able to discern the difference. I decided this useful manual was necessary for purchase and plopped it into my cart.

See what I mean? How could I leave this – the only copy left – to sit on the shelf?

The second book didn’t have an impressive artistic cover, but it was hard back, which I always find curious. I always take off the jacket and look at the naked book. It’s red. I put on the jacket and read the synopsis. I read a few pages and decided it wasn’t really speaking to me, but for $1.50, what did I have to lose?

The second book. The most exciting thing about it is the book itself is red. I’ll give it a chance.

As I was rummaging through the rest of the books, I saw it. “Ooh la la!” I said in the aisle, but no one was around to care.

There it was, standing tall amongst the shorter books. The title got me: All Signs Point to Paris. Its dark navy paperback cover with slightly shiny copper type face and its deckled edge pages were not the usual find at the dollar store. I had to close my eyes and take a deep breath. Reading the synopsis wasn’t necessary, although I did it. Reading the first few pages wasn’t necessary, although I did it. It’s a memoir, somehow astrology is involved, destiny, Paris and some dude. Well, that’s my kind of book. Plopped it right into the cart and continued on my way.

The design of this book is very well done. Kudos to the designer. The original price was $19.99, and its publishing house is well known.

I returned home and sorted through all of my dollar store finds. That’s always the most fun part – picking each item out of the bag and saying to yourself, “I am so pleased I found a bundle of two rolls of Scotch tape for $1.50. Let them eat cake, I have name brand Scotch tape.”

I put the books aside for later because I wanted to pay extreme attention to every detail. I wanted to sniff them, look at their pages, read the publication details and all that fun stuff that book nerds do.

When I finally sat down with the three books, I saved the best for last. I already know the difference between rakes and hoes, and I’m not too keen on the second book, but I will give it a chance. There is a red book underneath that jacket, so maybe it’s more exciting than I think it will be.

I carefully opened the Paris book, making sure not to bend the cover or wrinkle the first few pages. Book nerds will know this ritual. I got a few pages in and found the most delightful surprise. A night sky with stars. Again, kudos to the designer as well as kudos to the publisher who spent a pretty penny on this book. Sidebar: I am not a fan of ereaders, and this is why. There’s nothing that can replace the tactile feeling of a book in your hand. And when it’s designed well, as this one is, there is absolutely no competition between this and an ereader. None.

I started reading this after my jump rope session yesterday, which by the way is kicking my butt. But I sleep soundly afterwards, as if I’ve been at the beach all day, sleeping in the sun and frolicking in the ocean. Nevermind most of it consists of me trying to skip for more than 30 seconds at a time without crashing and cursing.

I’ve got some stuff to do today, so I will revisit the book later. As most of you know, I often write about Paris here on my blog. The Olympics are getting underway and I’m seeing all of these images of the Eiffel Tower lighting up at night, as well as the recent full moon captured in the Olympic circles on the Eiffel Tower. What perfect timing then, than to read this book?

“Je suis prête.”

fate · fiction · poetry · serendipity · Writing

September 27, 2063

April 20, 2024April 28, 2024 Amy24 Comments

(Edit 4/20/24: I accidentally moved this to drafts and had to move it back to published. It’s not a new piece. If it’s new to you, that’s great. Thanks for reading.)

This is my response to beginningatlast9.com No Theme Thursday Challenge 3/7/24

Thanks again for the art inspiration, Kevin!

💫

Was it really 30 years ago

When we met on this bench?

We talked of squirrels

And raspberry berets

(the kind you’d find in a secondhand store)

Her smile lit up the sky

As the eclipse overtook the sun

I couldn’t believe my eyes

I couldn’t look away

From her

(Not the eclipse)

I would give anything

To go back to September 27, 2033

Before everything went—

💫

“Went what, Ethan?” she asked. I looked up with a crooked smile. “Are you writing out loud again?” She was standing there glowing, the sun all around her head, her expression open and teasing. She was the solar eclipse, she always has been, since September 27, 2033.

“Hey, Kiddo,” I said.

Like this? Read September 27, 2033 to see how it started.

fate · serendipity · Writing

Serendipity

April 18, 2024April 17, 2024 Amy28 Comments

Daily writing prompt

Describe a random encounter with a stranger that stuck out positively to you.

View all responses

There are two.

The first one was when my mom and I were going out to eat dinner at a fancy restaurant for some holiday, and as we were entering, an extremely good looking guy with either his mother or his grandmother were walking out at the same time. He was tall, had dark hair, looked like a model. He looked at me and I looked at him and he smiled. Well, I almost fell down. But I kept looking at him, and he kept looking at me. I was about 16, and I think he was a little bit older than that, but something was palpable. My mom started giggling and telling me, “That guy is really cute, and he’s looking at you, Ame!”

I think I started to blush, and I giggled as we continued to walk into the restaurant. I never forgot that encounter.

The second time was about 10 years ago. It was around Christmastime, and Mom and I were at a local department store that was packed due to the holiday. We were in the jewelry area, and out of this mass of people, I see a really cute guy with a younger girl, possibly his niece. It’s not abnormal for me to notice cute guys, because that’s my thing, but this was different. At the very same moment that I looked at him, he looked at me. The unfortunate part of this is that he was leaving and seemed to be in a rush with the gifts that he had in his arms. The strange part is that he turned around to keep looking at me as if he wanted to speak. I wanted to talk to him, although I didn’t know him at all. We maintained eye contact until neither of us could see each other – I was still in the store and he was in the parking lot. I really wanted to go catch up to them, but I couldn’t make my feet move. I wondered how idiotic would it sound to go up to some guy that I don’t know and say, “Hi, I feel like we’re having a serendipitous moment here, and even though you’re rushing to get wherever you need to go with your niece, we should chat.” I couldn’t do that, but I knew by not doing that that I would never see this person again, though I did check for him in the parking lot, even though I knew he was long gone. And for a while, I would check for him in that same department store every time I went. Anyway, I think I told my mom about it or she witnessed it. And she told me that similar things had happened to her over the course of her life. She believed when we would see people like that, they are angels put into our path for a particular reason. The reason is not always known.

I think the universe knows to send angels to me that look like cute guys.

Autumn · chick lit · Fall · fate · fiction · Humor · Love · prose · Relationships · serendipity · Short story · Uncategorized · Women’s literature · Writing

September 27, 2033

September 27, 2023August 10, 2024 Amy3 Comments

Do you believe in fate?

“Why do you keep looking at the time?” my colleague asked with squinted, suspicious eyes.

I thought about it for a minute before I answered, knowing how bizarre my answer might seem. I continued typing as I pondered my response. “I’m supposed to meet a guy at the park today,” I replied as nonchalantly as possible.

“Oh, really,” she replied, suddenly interested and rolled her chair up to mine. “Do tell.”

“There’s not much to tell. I received a text about ten years ago and it’s stuck with me. The guy thought he was texting someone else. Once he realized I wasn’t the intended recipient, we continued texting with playful banter. It was fun. He was fun, and smart. Also really quick-witted. You know how that hooks me every time. He said we should meet at the park on September 27, 2033. As a joke, of course. But then I started to think about it – and I’ve had ten years to think about it. What if it’s like, some kind of serendipitous experience or cinematic romcom situation?”

She sat there, staring at me blankly. “You’re saying you received a text ten years ago from a guy you don’t know, and you are going to meet him at a park today? Because he said to show up at the park on September 27, 2033? I have questions. What if he’s a stalker? Or a creep? Or 78 years old? Or 17 years old? What if it’s a catfish? And let’s say it’s not: it’s been ten years. Don’t you think he’ll have forgotten your text exchange by now? And since it was said in jest, he’s not going to show up, even if he recalls. Finally, how will you know who this guy is when you see him at the park?”

I shrugged off the first thousand questions. “I won’t,” was my response to the final one.

Her face scrunched. “This is clearly a joke. If you didn’t exchange photos, and haven’t texted since that one mistaken identity thing in 2023, then no, this is not happening. Like, at all.”

I turned back to my screen and continued typing. “I’m going to the park at lunch, sitting on the bench, and I will see if there are any guys loitering around looking at me.”

She ran her hand down her face in a sweeping motion of clearing out the annoyance that was me. I was not dissuaded. “What you are describing is a normal occurrence at the park. Do you know how many random guys loiter around and look at us every day as we walk through?”

I kept typing, keeping my eyes on the screen. ‘Yes, I know, but those are weird guys.”

“What separates this guy from those guys?”

“This guy told me to meet him at the park today.”

She sighed heavily. “I sure hope you have your Suspicious Persons binder up to date before you head out on this bad chick flick adventure of yours, because there are so many ways this can go south. You don’t know who you’re looking for, you don’t know what his intentions are, AND it’s been ten years since this occurred. He may not even show up, and I hope for your sake he doesn’t.”

The sky started taking on a strange darkness as we sat there, our cubicles next to the large window. She kept talking, mostly telling me not to do it, with me mostly thinking about what I could grab for lunch to take to the park. When I defiantly told her I was going, regardless of her lecturing, she waved me off dramatically. “Do what you want, but I’m going to send the police in an hour, and you know I mean it.”

I headed out at around 11:45. I stopped by the sandwich shop at the corner, ordered a croissant – because Paris is always a good idea. I could pretend that this was a Parisian park, and the guy would show up in a raspberry beret, the kind you buy from a secondhand store.

I took off my shoes and walked my way through the soft grass to the bench where I could see everyone in the park. There were kids playing nearby, giggling. There was an older woman sitting on the nearby bench. She smiled and nodded, and I returned her kind acknowledgment. So far, no weird guys had appeared, and no normal guys, either. The sky continued to darken, and I recalled the text exchange from ten years prior. “That’s right, there is a solar eclipse today,” I whispered to myself as a squirrel stared at my croissant, tiny arms pulled up to its chest.

I’d been at the park about fifteen minutes when my phone rang. It was my coworker. “What is happening? Are you insane? Are you safe?” She was bordering on hysteria.

“I’m fine. I’m sitting here talking to a squirrel actually. I’m eating my lunch, and if he doesn’t show up, I’ll just—”

It was at that moment I felt a light tap on my shoulder. “Gotta go,” I said slowly, and ended the call. With a deep breath, I turned slowly toward the direction of the tap. I looked up and I felt a wry smile form. My smile was returned to me tenfold. The sun was blocked out, but not by the eclipse.

The shadow spoke.

“Hey, kiddo.”