Spiral of Bliss 01 Arouse Read Online Free

She looks at the clock and sighs, her leaves drooping. “I started advertising, like, last month. Told kids to come dressed as their favorite character from
The Wizard of Oz
. We were going to read a couple of stories, play games, have some treats. You know, a party.”
    “Sounds great.”
    “It would’ve been, if anyone had shown up.” She shoves the knothole away from her forehead. She looks so dejected that I can’t help feeling sorry for her.
    “When’s it supposed to start?” I ask.
    “It was supposed to start an hour ago. I thought maybe there’d been a misprint on the flyer, but no.” She flaps her branches toward the window. “Two o’clock on Thursday, it says. Hey, could you help me out of this thing? I’ve been in it for over two hours, and I’m about to have heat stroke.”
    “Sure.”
    We maneuver around a little while trying to figure out the best method of liberating her from the trunk. Finally she bends forward as far as she can, sticking her branches out. I grab hold of them and pull. A few yanks, a few more curses, both of us pull in opposite directions, and then she pops out like a cork from a bottle.
    “Dang.” She pushes a mess of damp curls back. “Now I know what a sausage feels like.”
    I grin and put the costume on a chair. “You’re the owner?”
    She nods and sticks out a hand. “Allie Lyons.”
    “I’m Olivia West.” I shake her hand. “Everyone calls me Liv.”
    “Welcome to The Happy Booker, Liv.” She takes a water bottle from behind the counter and downs a few gulps. She’s cute and petite with floppy red hair and green eyes behind her purple-framed glasses.
    “Sorry no one came to your party,” I say.
    “Yeah, well, I should be used to it by now. No one came to the Winnie-the-Pooh party either, and I had a real beekeeper here with real bees.” She shrugs. “Do you like
The Wizard of Oz
?”
    “Not really. The flying monkeys scare the crap out of me.”
    She chuckles. “Me too. Want to come to the party anyway? I have cupcakes.”
    “I love cupcakes.”
    “Come on in, then. Stay on the yellow brick road.”
    I follow her on the vinyl runner to the children’s section at the back of the store. She’s got little round tables all set up with matching chairs, a “yellow brick” rug in front of a rocking chair, and another table covered with plates of food.
    “Help yourself.” She nods toward the food. “Or I’ll have to donate it… somewhere.”
    I take a plate and pile it with a rainbow cupcake, a cookie shaped like a hot-air balloon, and a frosted cake-pop glittering with red sprinkles. To complete this sugar buffet, Allie pours me a cup of lime-green punch.
    “Have a seat.” She gestures to one of the tables.
    “Why’d you decide to be a tree?” I ask, adjusting my rear on the diminutive chair.“From the Forest of Fighting Trees.” Allie sits across from me with another plate. “You know, the apple trees that get mad when Dorothy picks their fruit?”
    “Sure, but why a tree?” I peel the paper away from the cupcake. “Why weren’t you Dorothy or the witch?”
    “Oh, I wanted to save those for the kids, so I picked a costume that was less obvious. I figured we’d have a dozen Dorothys and witches running around.”
    “Did you advertise over at the library?” I ask. “I volunteer there once a week. They’ve always got kids’ programs going on.”
    “Yeah, but I think that’s the problem. Everyone goes there instead of coming here. I even spent three afternoons last week down by the lake wearing that stupid costume and handing out flyers.”
    “Maybe no one realized you were supposed to be from
The Wizard of Oz
,” I suggest. “They might’ve thought you were advertising some freakish tree party.”
    “Maybe.” Allie munches on a cookie. “So, anyway, sorry for bitching about it. What can I help you with? Are you looking for a book?”
    Although I have concluded my chances of employment here are slim to none, I figure I