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Nina locked the door of her bookshop and looked at the boxes on the floor . The reading group was coming after work . She promised them new novels . She opened the first box and pulled out a cookbook . The next box was the same . These people kept tonight free for her shop . If she stayed quiet , they would smile at the door and then see the wrong books . She wanted them to have the night they came for . Leo , her assistant , stood at the counter . " Cancel it , " he said . " Tell them the delivery failed . We can try again next week . " " Some of them are already on the bus , " Nina said . " Next week does not help tonight . " " Then what ? " Leo asked . " We cannot call a cookbook a novel . " " No , " she said . " We will not do that . " She phoned Mara , the woman who led the group . The novels were not in the boxes . Cookbooks were . She could still put out chairs and tea if Mara wanted the books that came . Or Mara could send everyone home . Mara was quiet . " My sister likes to cook , " she said . " Other people in the group cook for their families . The rest of us mostly eat and listen . We can read a recipe and talk about the last meal that went wrong . " Nina nearly said no . A bookshop night should be a novel , not a pile of cookbooks . Leo already had a pen for a closed sign . " Come , " Nina said . " I will clear the front table . Tell them before they sit down . I do not want anyone to feel tricked . " They stood the cookbooks up so the covers faced the door . Nina put a short note where people would see it first . The novels were late . These books were here . Stay if you want . The group came in from the rain . A man read the note and laughed , but he was not angry . Mara touched Nina's arm . " Thank you for calling , " she said . " At the door I would be angry . Now I am just hungry . " They read a recipe for a soup with too many steps . One woman said she always skips the second page . A man said his rice burned on Sunday and the smoke alarm went off over the pan . Nina stayed behind the counter and did not explain the order again . When the cups were empty , Mara stacked the cookbooks . " Leave them here for a few days , " she said . " If the novels come , we will come back . If they do not , we know where you are . " Nina turned the sign to closed . She left the cookbooks on the table . She could sort the wrong order on Monday . The chairs were still warm .
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