Beach Pajamas
By Carolynn Zorn
At the corner of the only traffic light in the sleepy white-haired town and the road to the sunburned, blond beach a mere block away, stands the old general store building. Bought, sold, and reimagined over the decades, it now welcomes local and lost visitors seeking cold beverages, books, and banter.
All the locals know where the front door key is kept so they can enter even if the sign in the window says “closed ‘cause we are at the beach.” And many old birds in town relish the opportunity to make themselves at home in the quaint comforting space the bookstore offers. As usual and even required at any old establishment, a bell over the door tinkles with every new arrival. And the screen door slams shut offering summer camp comfort to the lounging inhabitants.
The single seniors who own and live above this popular but crumbling main attraction in town have ceased to shock the locals with their living arrangement. Forgoing marriage for what they consider a more manageable relationship, they brighten everyone’s visit by their obvious happiness and commitment to not only each other but to the book lovers who slump in the numerous assorted seating choices in the expansive oak-floored main room. Although the lovebirds, as they are called behind their backs, walk with some arthritis showing they still exhibit vigor and vitality as they run the establishment which was their dream come true; “The Shop Around the Corner Book Lounge.” From their apartment upstairs they leave the windows open all year to catch the ocean breeze in an effort to trap it in their little nest forever.
Coach, as he is called, is the younger of the two cute owners and Lucy, his senior squeeze, is only a few years older at 80. Coach entertains the visitors with his weird sense of humor poking throughout the numerous stories he loves to tell. But he also loves to listen to long soliloquies by others, too. Lucy, who has heard all the stories in numerous variations over the years, still smiles and laughs at expected intervals if she isn’t hiding behind a book for escape.
Transactions in the shop are on the honor system and whoever enters first has to start the coffee and stock the cooler. Because most every morning, at sunrise, Coach and Lucy are strolling the beach wearing only their pajamas.
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