When Gianna Marchesi walked into Tang's Terrific Tomes at eleven-thirty on a Saturday, she didn't expect to find the small bookstore occupied with men in hard hats and yellow vests. Nor did she anticipate the tall Asian man standing in the middle of the store as though he owned it, leaning against the checkout counter with confident ease. He was giving orders to the workers like he was eyeing the bookshop for a renovation, or worse yet, a complete teardown. 

The store usually opened at noon on the weekends, so there was no reason for anyone to be there yet when only she and the owner had the keys. Yet Tang's familiar curved bookshelves that she had lovingly arranged to create neat alcoves with cozy chairs were now being swarmed by tape measures and unfamiliar men. The small reading area with colourful rugs where children came for reading hours once a week was now being trampled on by steel-toed boots. Worst of all, there was someone standing behind the counter that she typically occupied, leaving Gianna in a state of dreadful confusion.

The owner of Tang's, as everyone in Crabtree Point called it, was a kind older gentleman in his seventies named Philip, who always brought her tea and invited her to dinner with him and his wife, who had recently passed. However, despite plenty of speculation from Crabtree's citizens on the matter, there had been no mention of who the shop had been passed to. Was this the new owner?

"Excuse me." Gianna cleared her throat when the man didn't hear her. "Excuse me!"

She marched toward the counter in her sensible block heels, which clicked every step of the way along the parquet floor. After she reached the cashier's desk which she usually stood behind on her workdays, Gianna rang the bell reserved for customers who had a question about a particular novel or some other query. It got his attention, and he turned to look at her, pivoting away from asking one of the workers about the height of the ceiling.

"How can I help you?" He really was handsome: sharp jawline with a hint of scruff, well over six feet, and with dark eyes that seemed to take in far too much of her and her surroundings. Or maybe it was only that she'd come into the shop on a Saturday, expecting far less clamour and commotion, and far more peace and quiet, so that his presence seemed to fill the entire space of the cramped bookshop. 

"I'm the manager here. I came to open the shop, but I see you've already done that, Mr...?" If this was one of Philip's men, a lawyer or someone like that, Gianna would have to tread carefully. Lord, give me wisdom on how to proceed here.

"Mr. Dominic Tang." He extended a hand for her to shake, giving her a polite smile. "I'm Philip's grandson."

"I'm Gianna Marchesi." She smiled back, the expression feeling tight as she shook his hand. Gianna quickly remembered her manners and gave him her genuine condolences. "I'm sorry for your loss."

Philip Tang's recent death had been a loss to everyone in the town. He had been a regular at Gianna's parents' Italian-Chinese fusion restaurant; he'd been known to sit in the town square feeding the birds; he was everywhere, always having a kind word to say to everybody. The man had been a clear embodiment of God's love to everyone. 

"Thank you." Dominic cast an appraising eye around the shop. "You've clearly managed the shop well."

Gianna straightened. "Yes, I've been in charge of redecorating the place as well as ordering new inventory. We host all sorts of town events here--reading hours for children, literacy programs, even arts and crafts. Would you like me to give you a tour?"

"There won't be any need for that. I'm going to be gutting the place and selling the empty space in a matter of weeks," he said. 

She felt the blood drain from her face. "G-gutting the place?"

Had she heard him correctly? Was Philip Tang's grandson going to be tearing down Crabtree's most beloved bookstore and turning it into... into an empty, soulless office space, devoid of any character or life or joy? 

"Yes," he said, in a tone of voice that sounded as though answering a question about what time of day it was or whether the sun was shining. "Do you have any objections to that, Miss Marchesi?"

"Yes!" Before she could say something rash, Gianna took a deep breath. Lord, grant me patience. "This store is one of the town's fixtures! Everyone at Crabtree Point loves the place. I love this shop, and I've never worked anywhere else. You cannot simply come waltzing into town for five seconds and then destroy one of its landmarks! Tang's is... It's everything."

Her voice caught on the last syllable and she realized she had said far too much. She ought to have prayed instead for the right things to say because she doubted Dominic Tang would be convinced by emotional talking points or sentimentality. He seemed to be a calculating man of business, even as he wore that smile. 

"Miss Marchesi, if your concern is for your own future, I assure you, you'll be getting a glowing reference and a generous severance package from me." Dominic rolled his shoulders back. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to work."

Was he dismissing her? Already?

"I came here to work. This store is..." She coughed, not wanting to show him how she was on the verge of what might be tears. "Well, I run the store. I'm the manager."

"I own the store now," he said, without an ounce of remorse. "It was passed to me in my grandfather's will." 

"I've been working here for five years," Gianna said softly. Surely, even if he didn't care about the town, he would care about his grandfather's employees? "I took this job straight out of high school. There's nowhere else for me to go."

His eyes seemed to soften slightly at her words, but it may only have been her wishful imagination, always painting people as better than they were. "Miss Marchesi--"

Hoping and praying that she could convince him, she blurted out, "Call me Gianna." 

"Gianna, my decision has been made. I'm sorry, but there's nothing you can say to convince me." His deep brown eyes were resolute. Perhaps even sorrowful, but still... stony. Steely. Implacable.

Shoulders slumping, Gianna turned to walk out of Tang's for what may have been the last time.

***

If there was anything that could be counted on in this world, it was that the food at Marchesi's could cheer up even the most forlorn of broken hearts. It was said to even bring the dead back to life (which was silly, considering most of Crabtree's residents were God-fearing people) but one time, someone had brought Marchesi's leftovers to a funeral with an open casket. Thea Mulcair's grandmother had jumped out of her casket, scaring everyone, and even managed to be alive and coherent for a good twenty minutes, before falling back into her eternal rest. Marchesi's baked seafood pasta was one of Gianna's favourites, and their Italian-Chinese mix of rice noodles and spaghetti was unconventional, yet surprisingly delicious. 

So it was with a slightly peppier step that Gianna slid behind the counter of Marchesi's, where her mother was packing to-go orders and her father was busy in the kitchen. Estella, her younger sister, was bussing tables, and Luca, their older brother, was working the floor for the lunch hour rush.  

Each of her family members greeted her with a wave, a smile, or, in her mother's case, a kiss on the cheek. Though she saw the surprise and curiosity in their eyes and knew that news of Dominic Tang's arrival in town wouldn't remain secret for long. In Crabtree, nothing did.

"Hello, Mama." She closed a takeout box and bagged it, sticking on the receipt with practiced motions. Gianna had grown up in Marchesi's, helping to serve the mixture of Hong Kong cafe-style and Italian food since she could remember. Or perhaps since she had started walking. Her earliest memories were in this restaurant, but that didn't mean she wanted to be there forever. "How are you?"

"If you're going to be working, put your hair up at least." Nancy Marchesi--nee Ko--put her hands on her hips as she looked at her daughter. "Did something happen at Tang's? Why aren't you at work?"

"There's a new owner. Philip's grandson, Dominic," she said, briefly explaining the story of her unpleasant encounter with the bookstore's new proprietor. "Mama, he wants to gut the entire store! Where will I work? What about all the children who do their reading hour there? How can he simply gut Tang's? I don't understand it." 

Her mother was silent for a moment, packing takeout boxes with smooth motions. Her gaze was faraway. "You know, it wouldn't be the worst thing for you to come back and work with us, dear."

Gianna's stomach sank, heavy with guilt. Of course, she wouldn't hate working at the restaurant as she had done for so long. But the bookstore had been a piece of her, of her creativity and passion, and it wasn't something she could simply walk away from. Even if it had Philip--and Dominic--Tang's name on it. "That's all you have to say?"

"Dominic..." her mother murmured. "Dominic Tang... Now, where have I heard that name before?"

Nancy Marchesi prided herself on knowing each and every individual that lived, died, or was born in Crabtree. It wasn't difficult when practically all of them made their way through Marchesi's at some point. 

"Luca!" Her mother said as he came toward their station in search of a to-go box. "Luca, didn't you used to play basketball with a Dominic?"

"That was over ten years ago, Mama." Luca snagged a container and a paper bag, avoiding his mother's eye.

"You didn't answer my question."

"Yes, but..." Her older brother, Luca, brushed an impatient hand through his hair as he shifted his feet. "Dominic didn't exactly end his school year well. Of course, I remember him."

A frown furrowed Gianna's brows. What did that mean? Being four years younger than Luca, who was twenty-seven, she didn't know the same people he did, meaning that by the time she had started high school, Dominic Tang and Luca would have already graduated. Unless he was held back. But their school was small enough that everyone knew each other, meaning that she would likely have remembered meeting a Dominic, which she didn't. 

"Ah." Her mother nodded knowingly, Luca's small tidbit of information having apparently imparted an infinite amount of knowledge to her. "I see. Well, back to work with you, Luca."

Her brother scurried off to serve another table, and Gianna went back to her work. 

Just then, the door bustled open, and Gianna nearly dropped the plate she was holding.

Because in walked Dominic Tang, holding a little boy's hand.