Just to clarify...

My post from last week....yeah, it was complete fiction. I actually had a couple of friends call/email me to ask if it was real. My first reaction to their wonderings was, "In what universe would something like THAT happen to ME?" So yeah, sorry to disappoint, but I made it up.

HOWEVER! While the story itself is fiction, there is some truth in the details. The Reader is a real guy who comes into the store at least three times a week to read. He does have sandy-blonde hair and a tattoo on his left shoulder. He was really reading The Pirate King by R.A. Salvatore a couple of weeks ago. There is actually a romance novel titled The Pirate Lord. I really do have a coworker named Holly. And the store I work in really does have an escalator that I am always terrified of killing myself on. The catalyst behind the post was the fact that I saw The Reader that day as I was leaving work. We made eye contact and kind of smiled politely at each other. Seeing him (plus a whole bunch of other "stuff" going on right now in my life) made me want to write out a "first meeting."

He's come into the store a lot this past week and I've noticed a couple of new things about him: he wears Pumas and he has an iPhone. I actually had THE MOST PERFECT OPPORTUNITY to talk to him a couple of days ago, but of course I chickened out. I had just gotten off of a break and I was heading to the down escalator. Who's coming straight toward me? The Reader. We get to the escalator at the same time and he lets me go on before him. So there we are, riding the down escalator, standing practically right next to each other. I almost burst out laughing. I wanted so bad to turn around and say, "So, you come in here a lot. To read. What's up with that?" But of course, me being me, I said nothing and we continued our descent in silence. True story. I saw him again tonight when he came into the store (I was at cashwrap) and he looked my way, and again, I kind of smiled politely at him. I just find it funny now that here is this guy that comes into Barnes & Noble almost everyday and just sits and reads! If nothing else, I want to talk to him just to hear his story. I'm sure it would be fascinating...