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Now that the harsh grip of winter was slacking it was time to get dirty. Jessie needed to get the courtyard situated so that as soon as there was no chance of frost the annual flowers could be nurtured and the perennials could be planted. Or was it perennial flows needed to be nurtured and annual flowers to be planted? Jessie shrugged as she grab her tool bucket and headed out into the still fairly bare courtyard. With the sun shining and a warm breeze tugging on her pale yellow gardening shirt Jessie definitely knew spring was here.

She put down her bucket with the shovel, trowel, knee pads, and gloves on the small wrought iron table that was situated on the edge of the 'patio'. The only place with the ground covered in pavers, the rest of the courtyard was plants, grass, and paths. "Sweeping and raking first I guess," she muttered to herself as she mentally added to the list of things to do that day. Clearing the old leaves and dead branches, loosening the dirt, mulching, and checking on the 'yearly' plants. With a good list started Jessie smiled. She made her way back on to the deck and stuck her head in the door, "Jackson I'm going to turn on the radio, if you need something give a holler or you know come get me."

After a good half hour of raking out the leaves and picking up branches Jessie had a good pile of stuff that could be composted... not that she did. She actually bags it and sends it to a nursery just outside of city limits but it didn't help when you had no bags. Muttering all the way back to the door Jessie used the matt to make sure her shoes were clean and pushed open the door, the little bell tinkling merrily. "Jackson did we ever get more of those gianormous paper bags, you know those things you can shove leaves and stuff in?" When the young man behind the counter gave her a look she remembered that he was still pretty new since her last one graduated from college and left. "Bahh. You’re no help." She waved him off and started towards the small kitchen, the only thing besides the main stairs to remain of the gutted main floor.

The Easter decorations are still up, she noticed as she passed the garlands of pale colors draped over the ends of the bookcases and windows, the festive window decals that were on every window, some stuck with tape, and the various eggs hidden in the stacks, the toys hidden inside just waiting for a person to spot it and open them. She made a mental note to pick up the empties from the box behind the counter. As she passed the gardening section she checked the water in the plants, they were good. She patted the stuffed beagle that was in the animals/pets section. She put out a new book on Garcon’s tray, and made the glass and brass fairies tinkle when she sent them spinning as she wondered through the fantasy section. She had completely forgotten why she had come back inside by this point.

It wasn't until she had reached the art section that she found another living soul other then Jackson. The young lady was absorbed in the book so Jessie didn't say anything; she just went on straightening the books and tweaking the various items in the section. After the fantasy section it was one of her more colorful areas with paint splashes on the ceiling, plastic cameras, paintings, and pallets used as bookends, a giant plastic paintbrush suspended from the colorful ceiling, and mustaches painted on the window. That was a touch from one of her younger customers who thought it would be amusing to look out the window and have a mustache or as he called them, mustachios. Jessie couldn’t help but chuckle at the memories.

Jessie looked up from straightening the last of the books when someone spoke. It was the young lady with the pink hair who was so absorbed in the book earlier. "Oh I love it. As Hemingway once said, 'There is no friend as loyal as a book.' These are my friends and companions." She ran a hand fondly down a spine of thick black and white photo book. "'Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.' Confucius was a very smart man and for me this isn't a job, just a new adventure everyday. Seeing the new books that arrive, meeting new people who wish for something to read, and reading the books themselves." Jessie's smile was the same as a small child given free range in a candy store; a bit awed, a touch amusement, and a whole lot of glorious pleasure. She knew that her job wasn't all fun and games. The ordering of the new books was a bit like pulling hair, personally she wanted everything but as the owner she knew they couldn't afford or had the space for everything, she had to buy what sold. And the accounts! She hated dealing with the accounts and was glad that she had a part time bookkeeper helping her, but still..... gahhhh.

Jessie mentally returned to the conversation just in time to here the young lady ask for a application. Application? For what? she almost asked before her mind made the connection between the statement before her mind went off on a tangent and the request for an application. "Oh sure.... uh... I think." Her smile was sheepish as she mentally tried to remember where she kept the job applications. "They are at....." She smiled brightly as she remembered, "the front desk. Come with me and we will get you one." She began to walk towards the front once more when she paused for a moment to add, "bring the book too."

Jessie turned and shook Avacyn's hand. "I'm Jessie Haze. Its nice to meet you Avancyn. I own the place but sometimes it seems like it owns me." She laughed at the horrible joke and nodded to Jackson, "This is Jackson, he helps me out most days but I know he would appreciate more help." The young man nodded and went back to playing on his phone. "Oh hey Jackson do you have the applications back there?" He fished around and pulled out a simple application and put it on the counter along with a box of giant paper bags."Ha, you found them." Jessie smile was bight and with a laugh she grabbed both the application and the box.

Turning back to face Avancyn Jessie explained. " I needed these but couldn't figure out where they were." She handed the paper to the young lady and then added, "You can fill this out now or if you want we can do a impromptu interview while I finish up in the courtyard. I got to bag the leaf litter from last year and work with some of the year plants that are starting to come back." Never one for real structure the application was pretty bear bones and included things like past jobs and contact information. Jessie thought the best way to get to know someone is by talking about books with them. Jackson was a big fan of sports books.

Jackson just nodded, never taking his eyes off his phone. Jessie could hear the sounds of a yellow bird taking flight via a slingshot and the inevitable sound of glass breaking. Well at least it isn't Fruit Ninja today she thought as she remembered the last time he played that game... the sound of the fruit being cut over and over and over got so annoying she was semi tempted to grab the phone from him and toss it out into the rain.

"Just follow me." She opened the front door, the bell tinkling brightly. "Hum? Oh yeah Jackson will watch it. It won't go anywhere." Jessie stepped out onto the victorian's wrap around porch and smiled as a warm breeze tugged at her ponytail and the edges of her old blue flannel shirt. She made a mental note that soon it would be time to pull out the pots from the basement and fill them with plants for the porch. She followed the railing around until she reached the side steps leading down to the patio and courtyard. Everything was still pretty bare but it was looking cleaner, and Jessie could see the tiny nibs of green sticking out of the rich dark soil.

Jessie quickly cleared one of the wrought iron chairs and gestured to it. "Sit, sit. I don't bite." She smiled then grabbed one of the bags that Jackson had found for her. As she began to stuff the garden debris into the back she asked Avacyn, "Are you in school right now?" Jessie agreed with her mother when her mom said that she would hire students but it would only be a light work load so they would have plenty of time for school. After all what was the point of a job after school if it took up more time then school?

Jessie had had an after school job working in the store while she was taking classes at the university. She had seen it as type of free study since she was able to find a lot of her work information in the books she shelved, stacked, unpacked, and sold. But still, for Jessie school came first.

I wonder what kind of books she likes to read? Jessie thought. Fantasy like J.K. Rawlings and Tolkien? Biographies on people like Washington or Monroe? Histories about wars or countries? “Fiction or non-fiction?” Jessie looked up startled. She hadn’t meant to say it out loud. It didn’t have anything to do with being interviewed. “Um… no, don’t answer… I was… just thinking and well… it kind of slipped out.”

"Oh? From where?" Jessie wondered if she might have a postcard from there since her mother sends her one from each state, city, or national park/monument they visit. She had cards from St. Lewis, The Grand Canyon, Colorado, Maine, and more than a dozen others. Some Jessie had framed and hung like art while others went in a scrap book. She could live vicariously through her parent’s adventures and secretly plan her own if ever she got up the nerve to leave the store. "I'm sure you will make it one day, somehow. After all, 'shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.'"

Jessie had finished bagging the trash and closed the bag but knew the new plants still needed more TLC. She continued to work in the dirt as she waited for Avacyn's answer to her impromptu question. "Oh? What is your favorite genre? I'm partial to fantasy myself but a good adventure or murder mystery is always a great change of pace." She would not likely admit out loud that she had a secret stash of romances that were well read.

Jessie smiled, ahh the small town she thought. She grew up in a rather large area but her neighborhood had a real small town feel to it. If she wasn't at home she was at a neighbors and her mother already knew about it. When the mailman's wife had a baby all the moms got together to make his wife food so she wouldn't have to worry about meals. There were some pretty epic water balloon fights, snow ball fights, and bike races held between herself and the neighborhood kids. Sometimes she wished that they hadn't had to move but then Jessie remembered how happy her parents are and how much she herself loves this city. "You know, a lot of famous people are from small towns like Britney Spears, Jessica Biel, and Matthew McConaughey. I'm sure that when you are famous too your hometown will be proud of you."

"Although most of her writing is categorized as young adult I love Patricia C. Wred. Her Enchanted Forest Chronicles and Frontier Magic are one of my most read series." Jessie actually owned two sets of the Enchanted Forest series since the first set of books were quite old and were starting to show their age and usage with loose pages which practically broke Jessies bookworm heart. "Personally I'm not much of a sci-fi fan but I do like Douglas Adam's Hitchhikers Guides and I have read this new series by Marissa Meyer, The Lunar Chronicles. The first one is called Cinder, its a sci-fi take on the classic cinderella story but with cyborgs and lunar people and mind control. Highly amusing." Jessie was a sucker for a good fairy tale and had a few old tomes of the Grimm Brothers in her apartment. She was happy about how the classics have made a resurgence in literature with twists and adaptations. No two stories were alike but if one knew the classic it wasn't hard to find them in the new books and series out there.

"Romances? Who is your favorite author?" There were so many out there but Jessie was quite fond of Nora Roberts, Katie MacAlister, and MaryJanice Davidson.... although to be quite fair they were a mix of fantasy and romance normally. "In general who are your favorite authors? Have you read any books you would recommend?"