He could remember that day like none other. The day his mad Uncle Saul asked him to work in the bookshop. He was trudging home from school, his shoulders bowed, holding his latest failed assignment, a stone sculpture, loosely in one hand. It wasn’t his fault that he didn’t like sculpting things. Why they had to give him a D on it was beyond him. It did look a little bit like a tree…sort of, if the tree had been burned to a stump and one lone branch survived.
Sighing, he looked at his sculpture again before shoving it in the satchel slung across his shoulder. He was not looking forward to showing it to his parents when he got home. Hopefully Cathal, his sister, got there first and they were too enamored of her artwork to ask about his. Not likely though.
Looking down at his feet, his large gray toes peeking out from under the leather, he realized his lace on his right shoe was untied. He quickly bent down to tie it, making the bow perfectly even on both sides. When he looked up, he saw his Uncle Saul, standing outside of his shop. He stood up and began heading across the street, hoping his uncle wouldn’t see him, but before his foot left the curb, his name was bellowed. “Finn! Finn Hanes! Just the lad I wanted to see. Come to my shop.”
Finn paused. He could ignore his uncle, which would be rude but understandable, or he could stop by for a visit, thereby delaying the inevitable confrontation at home. Squaring his shoulders, he turned and headed for the bookshop his uncle owned.
Stepping into Roget’s was like going into another world. The shop was dusty and full of books, all arranged in a haphazard way, piles on top of piles across tables, benches and bookshelves. The shop was dark, the blinds pulled on the large shop window and door, to keep the light out. He took a deep breath and almost choked on the dust in the air. Coughing, he weaved his way towards the shop’s counter, to the right of the door. Before he reached it, however, a book caught his eye. Gulliver’s Travels. He stopped and picked up the book, flipping the pages over and reading random sections of it. Lost in the book, he almost didn’t hear his uncle’s loud, “Ahem, lad.”
Guiltily, he slipped the book closed and put it back on the pile from which it came, making sure to wipe the dust off it before approaching the counter. His uncle’s large 9 foot form stood behind it, his small wire glasses hanging off his long crooked nose. “There you are. Come closer, me lad.” Finn edged closer to the counter, his nose at the height of his uncle’s chest. He hadn’t had his growth spurt yet, but he would soon.
“Hi Uncle Saul.”
“You look just like your father did, Stones rest his soul, when he was that age. It’s uncanny.”
“Um, Uncle Saul, my Da is still alive and well.” Finn said, his brow crinkled.
Saul waved a big meaty hand around. “Whatever you say, lad, whatever you say. I’m no here to talk about the family and don’t go expecting any tales about them either. No matter what Eveline says, the family is about as boring as an old mine cleared of all minerals.”
“Okay. I wasn’t expecting any tales, Uncle Saul.” Finn shifted from one foot to the other, his hands itching to go back to the book he put down.
“Well, good, because I’m no telling you any.” He harrumphed and then shuffled paperwork around on the counter in a similar manner to one Finn did himself when he was sorting through his homework.
Finn quickly clasped his hands behind his back to stop their movement. No way was he like Uncle Saul.
“Uh, Uncle Saul? What did you want to see me about?” He inquired carefully, afraid to get him started again on the family tales rant.
Saul’s beetle-like eyes peered down at him over his nose for a moment, the brows swooping down and then sliding all the way back up his gigantic forehead. “What did I want to see you about? What?” Saul guffawed, before continuing, “You came into my shop, lad, not the other way around.”
Feeling like the conversation was getting away from him, Finn decided this was his chance to get out of the shop and head home. The conversation with his parents was looking better and better.
“Okay, then. I just wanted to see what books you have.” He said as he began slowly backing up towards the door. “And yeah, you have a lot of books. Great selection, Uncle Saul. I’m going to go now, Da and Ma will wonder what kept me.” He had just passed Gulliver Travels, glancing down at it before shaking his head and getting ready to bolt out of the door when his uncle realized what was happening.
“Wait, lad, wait. I wanted to ask you a question. I’m no getting any younger and could use a bit of a hand around here in the shop. What say you to helping your old Uncle Saul out, hey? You could learn a lot in a shop like mine. You could even finish reading that book you liked so much for free.” Saul’s bushy eyebrows crawled across his face before settling into high arches as he attempted to smile encouragingly at the lad.
Finn shuffled his feet and hitched his satchel more firmly on his shoulder, before saying, “I don’t think that would be a good idea, Uncle. Da has a plan for me in the business and I would not have a lot of time available to help you.”
“That’s alright, lad. A few hours a week will do her. Just come in and help me sort out the inventory. I’ll pay you a coin every 6 months. What young lad couldna do with some pocket change, hey?”
Finn stopped and looked down at his feet while he thought of a suitable response. He could use the coin and the bookshop was very dirty; it definitely could use a thorough cleaning. Maybe it would not be so bad. So it was not working with stone, which would disappoint, well, everyone, but he did not like working with stone. It was boring and he was not particularly good at it. By working here, he could help his family out, which is a good thing in the family Stone, make a bit of coin, read a few books, and have somewhere safe to hide out away from his parents’ disapproval of his stone crafting skills. His eyes landed on Gulliver’s Travels again, which by chance he had just stopped at.
“Okay, Uncle Saul. I will help you out. When would you like me to stop by?” Finn said, shoving his hands back behind him to stop them from reaching for the book again.
“Tomorrow, lad. I’ll see you at 3 pm sharp.”
“Okay. I will try to be here tomorrow at 3 pm, as long as I do not get caught up at school or have something Da needs me for.”
“That’s no how this works, lad. You show up when I say you show up. 3 pm tomorrow. Sharp.” His eyebrows crashed together in the middle of his forehead at the same time his yellow teeth clicked together on the ‘p’ as he scowled down at Finn.
Finn sighed. This was going to be a disaster; he should just back out now. As he looked down at his feet to figure out how to say no to his Uncle, his eyes fell on the book and the decision was suddenly out of his hands.
“I will see you tomorrow at 3 pm sharp, Uncle Saul.”
“Good lad. Now go away. I don wanna see you no more.”
Finn turned and bolted out of the store, running down the street towards home, his heart feeling lighter than ever had before, Gulliver’s Travels looming big in his mind’s eye. If nothing else, he would get to read a really good book.