Posted on Facebook over the weekend by Lexi Walters Wright, owner of High Five Books, Florence, Mass.:
"Friends, Lexi here. Now that my heart rate has returned to normal, I want to share with you the biggest surprise of my life. Friday night, right before closing, I was helping one of our sweet regulars find a time-sensitive book (first periods!) when our author pal Lisa Yee came in. It was serendipitously delightful to watch her meet the reader I was working with, herself a big fan of Lisa's. I was watching that author-reader magic unfold--the alchemy that fuels this often demanding, always rewarding job--when the doors of our store flung open.
"Authors + illustrators streamed in, chanting my name, festooning me with a tiara + balloon and flowers, cake + champagne + gifts. The creatives, they just kept coming: A jubilant ambush of our local talent, whom I've had the distinct pleasure of working with these last five years. These creators, whose talent + generosity of creative spirit keep this small-but-mighty bookstore's shelves + events calendar full, were there to congratulate ME on our recent store expansion and our ongoing contribution to this beautiful community of readers.
"There were beautiful, heartfelt toasts in our new event space, where the paint has barely dried. There was a lot of sweating + shaking (me) and so many warm hugs and kind words (the authors + illustrators + my staff + family, who were all in on it). It was one of the most shocking, moving experiences of my life, let alone this nascent career. I'm still processing the depth of kindness these folks bestowed.
"It can be immensely scary + vulnerable owning a small business, especially one that affects the lives of families I love in my own neighborhood and the livelihoods of the staff I treasure, whose commitment to this grand experiment is unwavering. But knowing I also have the support of the people whose work is the bedrock of this joyful, affirming, inclusive store is just the most validating--and motivating."