loose leaf

She held the book by the spine and shook it vigorously, as though waiting for something to fall out. And then they did, falling like leaves onto the carpet, words and letters scattering everywhere.
"Ah ha!" she said, picking one of them up. "That's the word I was looking for! Now, where was I?"
"Expounding, I think." I said.
She continued talking, forgotten word found, while I was left to clean up the mess and put all the words back. At least I like how the ending turns out now.