“Nope. Not for the next seven weeks. Other than our dance class.”
Suddenly, it hit home to him that this might be the first time he could oversee his own schedule. His entire life had always been mapped out for him. He’d followed school schedules, sports schedules, clinic schedules, organization and symposium schedules, hismother’sschedule... but he’d never made his own before. No wonder he was floundering.
“Does it bother you?” She tilted her head. “I can’t imagine not knowing what I was doing for almost two months.”
“I think that’s the point,” he said. “I’m not supposed to be bound to work responsibilities.”
She straightened in her chair. “If we’re going to be a couple, we need to schedule some activities.”
He noticed she didn’t say “pretend” couple. An unintentional slip, obviously. But a part of him wished it wasn’t. “Or we could play it by ear.”
She glanced at her calendar, then at him again. “How about a compromise? We can plan a few things, and we can also be . . .”
“Spontaneous?” he offered.
Nodding, she set down her pencil. “Yes. Spontaneous.”
He smiled. But he still wasn’t sure if she was on board with a temporary fake relationship. “Are you saying that you want to go through with this?”
Her emphatic nod caused a lock of hair to fall against her cheek, reminding him how soft it had felt between his fingers. He shifted in his chair, something he’d been doing a lot of since he’d arrived.
“Being in a pseudo relationship might solve a few problems. Aunt Bea is concerned about me. She thinks because I’m single, I’m lonely. Which I’m not,” she promptly added.
“Mom thinks the same about me. That, and she’s worried I’ll never have a family.”
“Is that something you want?”
“Sure. Eventually.”When time permits.“What about you?”
“Inever really thought about it much before.” She glanced down at the pad.
“You’ve never considered if you want children?”
“I’ve always been focused on other things. Getting my degrees, finding employment, improving the library.”
“You’ve done a terrific job,” he said. “I haven’t been in here in years, and I can see the difference. Same building, but it’s not a dusty tomb anymore. Remember Ms.Periwinkle?”
“Who could forget her?” Olivia smiled. “She was always fussing at the after-school kids.”
“‘There’ll be no laughing in my library, you whippersnappers.’”
She started giggling. “You sound just like her. I still have a copy of her Library Ten Commandments.”
“Really?”
She got up from her chair and went to a three-drawer file cabinet in the corner of the office, opened the second drawer, and pulled out a folded sheet of manila paper. She opened it. “‘Thou shalt not write, draw, or color in any library book.’”
He jumped up and went to her, reading the commandments over her shoulder. “‘Thou shalt not drink or eat in the library.’”
“‘Thou shalt not chew gum in the library,’” she said.
“‘Thou shalt not talk, giggle, or laugh in the library.’” He chuckled. “I can’t believe this still exists.”
“I kept it when we did a little remodeling right after I was hired.” She folded up the paper and put it back in the file. “I thought about keeping it up for posterity. Her rules really weren’t outlandish.” She shut the drawer and turned to him. “But I didn’t want kids coming in here and seeing a bunch of ‘shalt nots.’ I have the rules posted, but they’re written in a positive framework.”
He approved of her decision. “Did you ever get in trouble with Periwinkle?” he asked.
“No. Did you?”
