A hard day in the book shop

'No one even sees us anymore.'

'What's that?'

Fluffy bear cleared his throat. He hadn't been meaning to speak aloud, but now that he'd broken the silence with his innermost thoughts he may as well continue. 'No one even sees us anymore. Remember the first day we were up here?'

'Last Monday?'

'No, the Monday before. It was the 26th here, but in the States it was the 25th, remember?'

Curly Bear nodded his head yes. He remembered.

'People kept coming by and giving us a pat on the head. They'd stop to have a look at the books, pick them up and read the back.'

'Yeah, yeah. There was that one woman picked me up and gave me a squeeze!'

Fluffy Bear laughed. 'That's right. I thought I was never going to see you again.'

'I don't think she even bought a copy.'

'No,' Fluffy Bear said. 'I don't think she did.' He thought for a second, then laughed. 'She certainly wanted to buy you, but.'

'I'm not for sale,' Curly Bear stated, sticking out his chest.

'And now they just walk on by. It's like we don't even exist.'

Curly Bear nodded his head. Fluffy Bear definitely had a point. He remembered the tight grip of the woman. The warmth of her arms, and the sweetness of her perfume. She'd put her nose down into his head and sniffed him deeply. Snuggled him under her chin.

'Maybe we should hold a sale? Maybe if we dropped the price they'd come back?'

'Maybe we could give them away for free?' Fluffy Bear mocked, and then held out a paw when he saw how Curly Bear's face dropped. 'Sorry. They're already a bargain. Signed too. We can't devalue her work that way.'

Curly Bear nodded his head. No way did he want to ever devalue her. She was the light of his life; worth a thousand sweetly scented cuddles.

'What'll we do then?'

Fluffy Bear shrugged his shoulders. 'Dunno. Maybe we should pack it up for a week or two. Maybe they'll notice when we've moved on.'

'We could always come back though, right?' Curly Bear's voice rose a few notes on the last word. He stared at Fluffy. 'It's nice here, isn't it?'

Fluffy Bear nodded at him. Maybe it wasn't a lie. 'Sure we will,' he said, his voice cracking on the last word. He cleared his throat and tried again, 'Sure we will.'