We have a wonderful teacher here at IHOP–KC named Terri Terry. It is her real name. When she first moved here we started carrying one of her books at the bookstore. As soon as we discovered her name on the cover, it quickly became a cause of great amusement – and great curiosity – for the staff. One day she came by the store and so we finally asked her if Terri Terry is her real name. She told us it is. We asked her if it was her birth name. She responded, “Of course not! Who would do that to their child? I married into it.” I asked her if she had any reservations marrying a man with her first name for his last name. She said, “Of course I did, but when he asked me to marry him I said to myself, ‘Hey, you might not get another chance, so go for it.’” And that about sums up Terri Terry.

Fast forward three years. I was working a shift in the bookstore with my friend Amanda. We were unpacking a box of the same book that introduced us to Terri Terry and sparked our curiosity years back. We noticed that her name was written “Terri L. Terry”. My friend Amanda asked me what I thought the ‘L’ stands for. I jokingly said, “Terri Larry Terry!” and chuckled to myself at the thought of so ridiculous a monicker. We both commented on how unbelievable that would be and we vowed to ask her when we saw her again.

The very next day, Mrs. Terry herself paid the store a visit. I was not there in person, but Amanda was, and she shared with me the following account:

When Amanda saw Terri she asked her what her middle name was. Terry responded, “It’s Lawrence. My parents wanted a boy, whom they were going to name Lawrence. So they kept it as my middle name.”

Amanda kept quiet, weighing the implications of this new information when Terri said, on her own, “So my name is Terri Larry Terry.”

Score.

It never even occurred to me that bookstore magic was at work until I talked with Christine about it, but it fits the pattern. I love bookstore magic.