But relying on one person for your every need is so dangerous. One set of hands isn't enough to keep you from falling.

The next morning dawned bright and sweet, like ribbon candy.

She accepted it from then on. Books liked her. Books wanted to look after her.

She'd fallen into the best part of her past.

It had always fascinated him that she'd consumed so many words, that her head was full of stories, told a thousand different ways.

The words were strung in the air like garland. She could almost see them.

Coffee, she'd discovered, was tied to all sorts of memories, different for each person. Sunday mornings, friendly get-togethers, a favorite grandfather long since gone, the AA meeting that saved their life. Coffee meant something to people. Most found their lives were miserable without it. Coffee was a lot like love that way. And because Rachel believed in love, she believed in coffee, too.