the haunted bookshop

the haunted bookshop

cat curled behind bars of shadow
in a patch of sunlight

It's almost Halloween. Costco has sold out of pumpkins, but New Pioneer Coop still has a nice selection, including white, green with yellow striped and warty pink ones. In the Haunted Bookshop, people are browsing for used books, new puzzles, games, toys. A short-hair gray cat is curled up on a padded rocking chair in a warm patch of sunlight striped by shadows. The Second Act consignment clothing store is packed with people shopping for costumes. A dyed blonde is looking at long blonde wigs, a boy swipes the air with a plastic sword, a girl holds up an Elsa dress. Everyone is wearing Hawkeye shirts for the game this Saturday afternoon. As we leave town we pass lines of cars and people walking toward the stadium, carrying coolers and blankets. The temperature gauge in the car registers 74 F. You'd never know it's late October. We drive back to Fairfield, sipping cold kombucha.