A Lifetime in the Nighttime

The lack of sleep from the previous night was wearing on Rio's body as she dragged herself out of bed with heavy eyes and a sullen expression. She wasn't sure how she was going to make it through the following nights because she had run out of games to play and bumps on the ceiling to count. She walked to her closet, tugging on her comfiest sweater and a pair of leggings before padding down the cold stairs to the kitchen.

Seeing as it was already nine o'clock, Rio's father had long since left her alone, but remembered to keep the coffee running which Rio took to with joy. She poured herself a heaping cup of coffee and sipped it slowly as she stared out of the window. Newly fallen snow littered her front yard, covered her little red car and was bouncing the sun shine around like a rubber ball. She sighed, stretching and looking across the table at the empty seats near her.

It was days and mornings like these that made her miss her mother and the man that used to be her father even more. She sighed again, feeling utterly lonely in her home. She stood then, not being able to bear this barren sight any longer, and walked into the living room where a stack of books awaited her. She cracked them open, skimming through pages that had worn thin from being read over and over again, before shutting each individually and deciding it was time she invested in a new book.

She stood, walked to the door and slipped on her boots and then grabbed her purse and keys to head to the bookstore, Livingston's Bookstore. The bookstore was owned by a kind old gentleman who often gave books out like a local library more than a bookstore. It was little and red with Livingston's Bookstore in gold letters. It was adorned with Christmas decorations and plenty of snow. It had a homey sort of feeling and was always warm. The counter was small and harbored only two workers with a newspaper stand next to it. There was a tiny bell that rang every time someone walked in as it did when Rio walked in.

Rio began skimming the fiction section, balancing her coffee in the crook of her elbow. She opened books, read the back of the cover and looked at the front picture itself. It was difficult for Rio to decide on simply one book, she was a rather indecisive person, so instead she closed her eyes, ran her fingers along the rows of books before finally grabbing one. She didn't mind the uncertainty of the book for she found that any book will tell a story worth reading if you give it a chance.

She walked to the counter where a dark headed boy was standing and placed her book on the counter. "Will that be all?" he asked her, ringing the book up. "Paper or plastic?" He added at the end, raising a brow.

"What a good question!" Rio exclaimed. "I mean, plastic is bad for the environment, but in my opinion, is sturdier when holding books, but paper is biodegradable and just has the kind of look to it," she said, huffing the words out in one long sentence. The boy at the counter raised a brow for he had never encountered someone go into some such detail about a bag. "What would you pick, Duran?" She asked, muttering his name as she read it.

"Plastic," he said, throwing the book into the bag, "$8.27, please."

"Oh my gosh!" She exclaimed, "You know what I just realized! Your name is Duran and mine is Rio. Are you aware that the band Duran Duran wrote a song about a girl name Rio? That's actually where I got my name from and with such a strange relationship, I'll assume your parents also enjoyed the band Duran Duran. How funny is that!" She said, giggling and covering her mouth.

He smiled softly, but he was simply being polite. "Quite," he muttered in response, "$8.27, please." Rio reached in her purse for her wallet, but felt nothing. She sighed and looked through it again. "Is there a problem?" Duran asked.

"I left my wallet in my car. One second!" She said, turning to run outside. The bell over the door rang through the bookstore as Duran's co-worker, Trojan, walked over.

"What the hell was that whirlwind?" He asked, chuckling.

"I'm not entirely sure," Duran muttered, walking around the desk to wait for the girl to come back. The blonde fireball, as he thought of her, was rummaging through a red car (how appropriate) and successfully emerged from the car with a leather wallet in her hands. She was beaming and began waltzing back into the store.

"Ten whole dollars," she exclaimed, throwing a crumpled bill onto the counter.

"Thanks," Duran said, putting the cash into the register and giving her the appropriate change. She threw the money into the wallet, messily, causing Duran to cringe at how disorganized she was. "Have a nice day, Rio," he said, a helpless smile tugging at his lips.

"And to you, good sirs," she replied, turning with her book and walking out the door. Duran looked at the counter noting a coffee cup that was not there before. He grabbed it and walked outside, running to catch up to Rio.

"Ma'am!" Duran hollered. Rio turned on a splotch of ice and lost her footing, crashing into Duran's arms with a hard thump. Duran chuckled, staring down at the wide eyed girl, whose cheeks were beginning to turn bright red.

"Oh my good golly gumdrops, I am so sorry!" She said, standing slowly.

Duran shrugged, "It was no problem. Here's your coffee," he added, handing her the cup. "I split some of it," he said, sheepishly, running his hands through his hair. He wasn't often nervous around girls, but maybe his recent break up made him awkward and nervous; he wasn't sure. Instead, he just turned and started walking away.

"Thank you!" Rio called after him.

His only reply was a small wave of fingers.