Before heading over,they sat on one of the park benches, finishing up their cookies and cider while watching people milling about. A farmer’s market of sorts had sprung up in the park, and several vendors were selling their wares.
After tossing their trash in a nearby receptacle, they made a beeline for the bus.
An older woman was standing outside, handing out flyers about the Hook’s.
“Howdy,” she said as they approached. She was dressed in a long, red winter coat with a bright rainbow-striped scarf and matching wool cap. “I’m Cybil. Come on in. Jane’s inside and can show you around or answer any questions you might have.”
“Thanks,” Tom said, and they climbed aboard.
Inside, there were shelves of books filling almost every nook and cranny, interspersed with a few seats here and there.Another woman, in matching scarf and cap but sans coat, sat in the bus driver’s seat.
“Hello, I’m Jane, Cybil’s better half.” She chuckled. “Though she might say otherwise. Welcome to Hook’s Traveling Book Nook.”
“Hi, I’m Will, and this is Tom,” Will said. “Nice to meet you.”
“Ah,” Jane sighed. “New love. I’d recognize it anywhere. Happy you stopped by, boys. Now take a look around and let me know if you have any questions. If you see something you have to have, feel free to take it. This is a library although we don’t often get our books returned, seeing as we travel around so much. But we do accept donations of both books and cash so we can replenish our stock. We’re all about spreading the love around.”
“Thank you,” said Tom.
They proceeded down the central aisle, noting books of all sorts along the way. There were nonfiction titles covering both major and minor holidays as well as lots of fiction books that spanned the LGBTQIA+ spectrum.
“Oh my God, this is incredible!” Will gushed. “The idea of this bus traveling around and sharing all of this is just so amazing.”
“I know, right!” Tom agreed.
Will found an anthology of queer short stories that interested him, so he carried it with him as they made their way back to the front. Cybil had joined Jane, sharing the seat with Jane’s arm wrapped around her shoulders.
“So, ladies,” Will began. “I did find a book that I’m taking, but I’d like to make a donation to your traveling library if I could.” He pulled some cash out of his pocket and handed it to Cybil. “Please use this however you can to help keep this going.”
Tom took out a couple of bills and gave them to the ladies as well.
“Thank you both so much,” Cybil said, accepting the donations. “We’ll put this to good use.”
“I do have a question or two,” Will continued. “First, how long have you been together? And next, how did this”—he gestured around the bus—“come about?”
“Let’s see …” Jane started. “Cybil and I met many, many years ago. Before either of you were born, that’s for sure. For me, it was love at first sight, but it took her a little while to come around.” Cybil laughed, nodding her head.
“Yeah, I was the stubborn one back then,” she said, grinning widely.
“After we retired—you boys were probably still in grade school when that happened—we wanted to do something to spread the word that love is love,” Jane picked up the story. “You see, it was quite different when we were younger. For many years, we had to keep our love secret.” Jane took Cybil’s hand. “We’ve seen lots of things change during our lifetime, but there’s still more that needs doin’.”
“So we got this idea,” Cybil continued. “We took some of our retirement savings and bought this old bus. Some friends helped us get it renovated and painted all pretty like it is. Didja notice there’s a door at the back wall?”
Tom nodded.
“Well, we’ve got a small bedroom and kitchenette back there along with the tiniest bathroom you’ve ever seen.” She chuckled. “But we don’t need much. So we travel around, sharing our message of love with everyone we meet.”
“And we occasionally splurge on ourselves and stay in proper lodging. We eat at restaurants pretty regularly too,” Jane added. “In fact, we’re staying over at the B and B in town for the weekend.”
“Oh, Bradley House?” Will asked. When the ladies nodded, he said, “I work there. But I’m off this weekend, so I didn’t get to see you when you checked in.”
“We met the nicest man Friday morning when we arrived. Clay was his name,” Cybil said.
“Oh yeah, he manages the guesthouse for his grandmother. He’s my boss. You might see him and his boyfriend, Finn, today or tomorrow. I’m pretty sure they’re planning on stopping by.”
“And now I have a question for you. Nothing nefarious, just to ease an old woman’s curiosity.” Jane smiled at them. “As I said when you boys came in, I recognize new love. How long have you two been dating?”
“Well, we met just a few months ago. We were taking a class together in college and became study partners,” Tom said.
