Though the store is not yet open,
I see a worker inside at the counter
with a stack of books in front of her,
a pre-opening task to record, price, and stock the inventory.
She holds a book vertically,
stares at the spine,
turns the book,
peers more closely to read the title,
or a fading author’s name.
She types something into a computer,
picks up a pencil,
opens the book to a page and writes something in the corner –
a price, no doubt.
Books priced for market,
but the value is always in the reader’s mind.
In the window,
books display the theme of the day – Summer Reading.
It’s beach country, after all,
something to read on a chair in the sun by the water,
a romance perhaps,
or something heavier.
Philosophy?
One of the classics maybe?
Canadian poetry?
Yes, that sounds just about right.
A bit of Leonard Cohen will hit the spot.
I check my watch.
Still a half-hour before opening.
I trudge off to the coffee shop humming Hallelujah.