Quiet Nights

8:30 pm on a Tuesday night at the Booksmith. Things are quiet. It's a bit chilly out for late March, yet our aisles are full of browsers silently reading or having conversations. It's calm. The Used Book Cellar is slowly emptying out after another successful event. The regulars have come in to buy their newspapers and visit with eachother, or to get their dog a biscuit. It really wouldn't be the same without them. There are no children around, the after-work rush has long passed. The phone is silent. For us this can be a nice time to catch up on shelving books or paperwork or....blogging. Once the weather gets nicer this sort of peaceful evening doesn't exist. That's when people are out and about, meeting at the store before and after dinner, coming in to stumble upon their next favorite book. Tourists are buying postcards and laughing at the silly books we have up at the register. The doors are open and traffic passes by outside, sometimes loudly. But for now, winter is still hanging on a bit and this Tuesday night is coming to a close. Goodnight, everyone.