“I don’t think we should be naive about it. People buy their books, be it digital or print, mostly on Amazon these days. And if not on Amazon, then at a big chain like Pages. That’s the reality of an industry in flux. Annie’s shop is based on a business model that can’t be saved, not the way it has been operating for the past eighteen years. But she said that Pages want to turn it into an independent-looking branch of their shop, which means that they do see value in the image of the indie shop.” Mia sighed. “I feel there’s an idea in there somewhere, but it hasn’t fully formed in my head yet.” She glanced at Josephine. “You’re a smart cookie. If we put our heads together, maybe we can come up with something.”

“I’m doing a PhD in Gender Studies. I don’t have that much of a mind for business.”

“Er, excuse me.”

Mia and Jo looked up. Mia had recognized the voice, of course, but she could hardly believe Lou was standing in front of the counter. She left the ordering up to Amber and Micky whenever she could.

“Are you talking about Annie’s bookshop in Newtown? I’m sorry, I couldn’t help but overhear.”

“We are,” Jo confirmed. “We are mortified that it might disappear.”

“So am I. I’ve known Annie all my life. She’s a friend of my mother’s. We were talking about the bookshop at home over the weekend and someone suggested that Annie set up a crowd-funding campaign.”

“Crowd-funding?” Jo said.

Mia was still too flabbergasted at being involved in a conversation with Lou to respond quickly.

“I honestly don’t know the first thing about it, although Jimmy suggested we do a Kickstarter campaign to collect funds to record a proper album,” Jo said. “What do you and your MBA think, Mia?”

“I think crowd-funding would work very well in your case, Jo, but for saving a bookshop, I’m not sure. It would be throwing money at something that could never become viable again on its own merits. You’d have to do campaign after campaign and that’s no model to base a business on.”

“Hm, maybe you’re right,” Lou said.

“Here’s an idea,” Jo offered. “All three of us want to do something. We should get Kristin involved because she has a nose for business. Have a meeting and brainstorm ideas.”

“The Save Annie’s Bookshop Committee,” Mia said.

“She will surely want to help. Sheryl and I used to go there together sometimes. Let’s put some lesbian muscle behind this,” Jo said with rising excitement in her voice. “Are you in?” she asked Lou.

Lou gave an adamant yes.