Gary was not stupid. He knew that the store was struggling, and he knew that it might be only a matter of time before Kyle had to let him go. Sirena was forty miles away, but the starting salary at Costco was more than Gary was making now, after five years, and the benefits were far beyond anything Kyle could offer.

Which was why Kyle had given Gary his blessing.

Bookstores had been dying on the vine since the advent of Amazon, and while independent and used bookstores had hung on a bit longer than most of the chains, they were falling by the wayside as well. For awhile, Harry Potter, Twilight and other blockbuster young adult books that appealed to all ages had guaranteed at least minimum foot traffic. And children’s books had been consistent sellers no matter what the state of the economy. But phones and their game apps continued to significantly chip away at people’s reading time, and Brave New World was having a difficult go of it, especially since the junior college bookstore had expanded its inventory to include not only textbooks but general fiction and nonfiction.

Some of the surviving chains now included Starbucks or Starbucks-like cafés in their stores, trying to encourage patrons to hang out and (hopefully) buy more, and in his most ambitious moments, Kyle had considered doing such a thing himself. His shop was adjacent to a narrow empty retail space that could easily be converted into a coffee bar/bakery with a wifi hotspot, but unless he won the lottery or received an inheritance from an unknown rich relative, there was no way he could afford to buy, rent or renovate anything.

And even if he did, there was no guarantee it would work out.

He could end up even more deeply in debt.

Thank God Anita had a traditional job with an assured income. They couldn’t really survive on her salary, but if he could continue to limp along the way he had been, they should be able to get by. And, who could tell, maybe eventually things would turn around.

Although that seemed less and less likely by the day.

Kyle sat behind the counter and switched on his computer to check his emails. Spam mostly. Ads from publishers for upcoming releases. Offers from distributors that he would like to be able to take advantage of but could not afford.

The bell above the door jingled, and he looked up expectantly, hoping to see a customer, but it was just the mailman. “Kind of early today, aren’t you, Gil?”

“Doing the route backward. Thought I’d mix things up a bit.” The mailman handed Kyle a stack of envelopes and catalogs held together with a rubber band. “How’s business?”

“Slow.”

“Downtown ain’t what it used to be,” Gil agreed. “Hell, the postal service ain’t what it used to be. Thank God for junk mail, or I’d be out of a job.” He nodded as he opened the door and stepped back onto the sidewalk. “See you tomorrow.”