Charlie wasn't too pleased about accepting people into a place whose front looked worse than some of the town's outhouses. Not only was it stained, but they had brown rain coming through the roof on the second floor. Still, she wasn't in charge of building upkeep.

It hadn't been included in the compromise the two young something or others made that first evening in HC's. What they decided was that she would loan him the money to buy the place. Since Charlie had worked numerous jobs since she was a kid, there were considerable savings. To pay her back for the loan — besides an even split, and most of his earnings until he paid her back — Herschel also promised her something called a veto in money matters. He explained that meant she got to decide what people paid, and who got helped pro-bone, or free. Their deal said nothing about what HC's would look like.

Deciding was what she was doing as she chatted up the line outside HC's. Since she knew most everyone, at least by reputation. She had no trouble knowing who was most in need of help, and what they could pay.

Still, even with her veto, Herschel was making himself happy by taking books as the preferred payment. In those rare cases when someone owned a book. She hadn't the heart to stop him gathering them up like a great bookwyrm, it was enough to know that she could. Besides at some point a bookstore should perhaps have some books? Charlie's preferred payment was coin, which went right back into her savings. Coin was almost like hard currency in these barter dependant parts.

With HC's opening, even Herschel's old p-word accuser Geraldine and her neighbour Ada came to get some help. The two old dears had been best frenemies since youth. Like a couple of stubborn goats they'd locked horns way back and never could get loose. Geraldine was the only woman she knew that always wore pants. Even thought with her twiggy legs and ample gut, she would've looked better in a dress.

"Hello ladies, wha' seems ta be the trouble" Charlie said moving them up the line. She reckoned it was a good to keep Geraldine on their side.

"She's been pickin' all mi raspberries!" They both pointed at each other.

"Mi? No you!"

"I've been pickin' those bushes since I was a girl!" Ada yelled.

"Well, so 'ave I!"

The two weren't much concerned with the old adage of holding your tongue to keep a friend. Their fight was about a patch of wild raspberry bushes. Not uncommon, because picking someone else's spot just wasn't done. Unless by cover of night, and blaming the birds. Still, who had claim to any given spot was often hotly contested. The bushes weren't on either ladies property, but both women claimed ownership by right of tradition.

Herschel solved it by promising the bushes to whoever was willing to dig them up and replant them on their own property. Neither was willing. Which led to them agreeing to share the berries, in that most traditional way of all, by whoever could get to them first. But Herschel suggested one addition. That whoever got there first, would give a quarter of the pickings to the other. To Charlie's surprise both old battle-axes thought that was a grand idea. As they were leaving, Charlie overheard them laughing about how silly they'd been.

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"May yar heart be light an' happy, may yar smile be big an' wide, an' may yar pockets always 'ave a coin or two inside!" Ada said to Geraldine, and they hugged.

"Ya know, ma'be that Nontie ain't no p-word after all?"

"Wull, I never believed it for a second. Ya know wha' tha' wus about, don't ya? Ya use' to bi the prettiest girl in all Remin'ton, and now ya're bitter ya're not still beatin' them aff with a stick." Ada countered.

The truce had held as long as humanly possible. But at least with the bush business solved they had one less thing to fight about. Charlie put out their closed for lunch sign, and went back in.

"I'm startin' ta see how Da got the idea HC's stan's for Herschel's an' not Herschel an' Charlene's Books," she'd said admiring her tall weirdo.

"Why not tell him what it stands for?"

"Where would be the fun in that?"

They kept lunch short since people kept knocking to ask when they'd be open. By closing time they had a decent haul, a few thin books for the shelves, a couple of coins, and a lot of IOUs and barter that would feed them for a week.

Their last customer of the day was Earl, who came in trying not to look like he'd given in to his curiosity. He tried real hard to ask what they were doing without really asking. Until Charlene relented and explained they were selling help, but Herschel being Herschel he corrected her calling it advice.

"Advice?" Earl wondered, "what kind of eejit pays for something that everyone wants to give away for free?"

"Ah," Herschel said, "you see it has to helpful advice. Most will give any useless opinion, just like you did now."

"You know, a man's mouth can break his nose," Earl countered.

"No wise man is without fault--"

"-- Hows about a free sample?" Charlene interrupted, this could've gone on for a while. "Ask him sumthing!"

"O-kay..." Earl turned in place a few times scratching his chin. "What should we do about us and the Nontie? To make things better I mean."

"That is a conflict you should try your best to loose peacefully, because they are right and you are wrong."

When Herschel refused to elaborate, Charlene ushered Earl outside. Because even if she knew Da agreed in principle, that advice had been a bit too blunt.

"First day's over," she said."It's gone okay don't ya think? But wi need ta think about sprucing up tha outside a bit. It mught get more folks in the door?" She was trying to not be to obvious with what she actually wanted.

"Who cares about the outside? As long as we're happy inside?"

Although not entirely convinced, she decided to leave it for now. Making him into someone who got things done right away might turn him into a person that would no longer be Herschel. Besides, even with its faults, at least the first level was feeling more like home. Most importantly, they'd struck on a service people wanted that he could provide. During the day, it'd struck her that none of these complainers were actually compelled to go along with Herschel's non-judgements. That would've broken Bres' restrictions on punishments.

"How do you get people to stick to what you tell them," she asked over their late but abundant dinner in the kitchen.

"It's actually quiet simple. I listen courteously, which always takes the longest. Then I try to consider the problem from both sides. That way I can attempt to answer some of their concerns before making any decisions. That is the most important part, because before I decide they already have an idea of what I'm thinking and why. After that, a decision where both parties gain something, and don't loose more than they can bear, means no one gets exactly what they want. But the resolution gets what it needs."

"This is all a big game ta ya isn't it?" Charlene accused tauntingly.

"No, no... no?" His frown was acting up, she knew he was considering if it perhaps was a just game since enjoyed doing this.

"I do want to help people. But I will admit to a small amount of satisfaction when I can put a slight shift in their illusions of right and wrong, but that is mainly a side-effect." The smile on his smooth face was as close to roguish as it was ever likely to get.