non-player characters ~ always accepting
Henry Smith is 36 years old and Deweyโs closest friend. He plays trumpet in a jazz club every weeknight and also works at an automotive factory (building automobiles) five days a week to make ends meet. Heโs strong and a bit more brawn than brains, but a true, loyal friend nonetheless. He stands up for what he believes in and hates anyone arrogant enough to mock people they consider โlesser.โ On several occasions, heโs gotten into fights with these kinds of people, and he was kicked out of a different jazz club for one such incident. He knows better than to get into a physical fight in his current jazz club, mostly because a friend and fellow musician of his (Louis Goodwin) is good at calming him down.
He smokes often and is confident, brash, stubborn, protective, and boisterous/loud. But he also has a gentler side and is especially fond of cats, who seem to like him just as much. Most people donโt understand how Dewey and Henry are such close companions since their personalities are so contrary, but they went to the same school together as children and theyโve been friends ever since.
Caroline Faraday is 35 years old and another one of Deweyโs friends. She is a seamstress who specializes in making dresses for partygoers. She is creative, insightful, proud, outgoing, forgetful, and a little nosy. Sheโs also a self-declared โhopeless romantic.โ Sheโs been through more breakups, broken more hearts, and had her own heart broken more times than most, but sheโs very chatty and more than willing to regale people with these stories and gossip about the men sheโs been with.
But admittedly, some break-ups are harder than others. She was walking in the rain one day after one such break-up when Dewey crossed paths with her, offered her his umbrella, and later invited her into the bookshop for some tea and conversation. Caroline likes Dewey because heโs such a good listener, and she sometimes comes by the bookshop to chat or give him a musical record to add to his collection (her records typically consist of somewhat sad, somewhat romantic songs like this one).
