Shawn Butts

The Book

The Book The shop smelt of mothballs and potpourri and everything was coated with a thin layer of dust. There were a multitude of items that looked to be pulled from the basement of a house that hasn't been touched since the early 1900’s. I walked past doilies that were stained a light yellow, handmade clothes that I couldn’t imagine were ever in style, and an abundance of old vinyls from the 60’s. I wish I could say I had a passion for old stuff. Truly, I only wandered into the local antique shop while I waited for my laundry to finish drying at the nearby laundromat. I was always told that it was rude to walk into a store with no intention of buying anything. My mom would always leave the store with something after a day of browsing. She would often gift it to me once she got home and told me that she was thinking of me. I knew the truth behind the small gifts but whether it was a pack of gum or a pair of shoes, it meant the world to me.