Borrowing or Pilfering - Only the Culprit Knows

            Maybe it was the title, The Time Borrower, that put the idea into someone’s head, but the result was pretty clear – someone walked off with a copy of my latest novel, right under the nose of the reader who bought the book in the first place. It happened in a medical office when the reader put the book down on the coffee table, bookmark in place and inscription clearly written on the title page, as she approached the window.

            When she returned, the book was gone along with whoever took it. I found out about the incident days later when the reader contacted me at my second home, the dog park, to purchase another signed copy. I didn’t know whether or not to be flattered because someone stole the book I had written, or outraged because they had committed a theft. Frankly, it was a little bit of both and the combination of curiosity and ego got to me. I had to know more.

            “Wow. That’s awful. They ripped off the book right out from under you.”

            (Holy cow! Must have been the cover design.)

            “No kidding. It was only on that table for a few seconds.”

            “Um. Do you mind telling me, were there other books on that table?”

            (Did I have any competition?)

            “Mainly magazines but there were a couple.”

            “Did they take those, too?”

            (Maybe the thief was into quantity.)   

            “No, they were still there.”

            “Gee. I don’t know what to say. That’s terrible.”

            (Ah hah! They really wanted my book.)

            “And the book was brand new. I’m only a few chapters into it. It wasn’t some ratty old book that had been sitting in that office for years.”

            “You didn’t possibly get a chance to see who wrote those other books, did you?”

            (Who did I beat out?)

            “No. I didn’t.”

            “Well, I’m really sorry. Maybe they thought the medical office loaned out its books.”

            (Really? Those offices wouldn’t loan you a pen without collateral.)

            “No. I think whoever took it was too lazy to go to the library or too cheap to buy one.”

            “They might bring it back.”

            (When hell freezes over)

            “Ugh. It could come back full of germs. No, I’ll just get a new one.”

           

            I nodded in agreement and raced home to tell my husband what had happened.

            “Don’t you see?” I said. “They could have stolen any of those other books but they took mine!”

            “I wouldn’t get too excited if I were you. Some of those people sit in waiting room offices all day long. They probably read those other books.”

            And there it was in a nutshell. No reason at all for ego inflation.

            “So that’s it, then. Petty theft.”   I was crestfallen. Not only did that person steal my book and ruin my reader’s day, but they walked away with my ego, too.

            WARNING  TO READERS:  Don’t leave a book in a doctor’s office or it may just disappear. Worse yet – It may come back all germy!