Page 11 of Check You Out

“Same as she was when you saw her this morning.” I pad into the bathroom. “Pissed off because I was late.”

“Oh, that poor starving creature. How ever will she live?” She mocks.

“She almost perished from starvation.” I set the phone down on the sink.

“Poor baby; so back to Aidan. What are you going to do about him?”

“I don’t know.” I turn on the water and wash my hands. “Just because he walked me home, doesn’t mean we’re heading to the altar. He was just being polite because I asked him.”

“But he didn’t have to. Summerville isn’t exactly the most dangerous of towns.”

“You don’t know that, remember, the Bat Invasion of 2013,” I remark as I manipulate the contact and pull it out. Blinking, I move to the next one. It doesn’t come out immediately, and I swear softly under my breath.

“I blocked that out.” She groans before shouting, “Georgie! I’m running this curbside out.” The phone grows quiet and Nicole lets out a sigh. “You know, I could ask Aidan what he thinks of you when he comes in. Or we could get Xander to ask?”

“No!” I reply with a stern voice, trying again at the second contact, shifting it on my eyeball and prying it out after another try. Finally, my fingers gain some traction, and it comes out. I rub my eyes and feel the relief of not having plastic lenses on my eyeballs. Shoving my glasses on, I say into the phone, “Eyeballs are out!”

“Good girl. Now doesn’t that feel better?”

“Never say that again.”

Nicole cackles but doesn’t reply. Through the phone I hear her exchange with a customer.

I plop down on my fluffy, cozy bed, closing my eyes and shifting my head against the pillow; the heaviness of sleep starts to hang over me. Not to mention the ever-present loneliness.

I’ve been using dating apps with the hope that I could find someone to spend a life with. Someone to bring me tea when I’m tired and working. Someone to discuss life and literature with next to my fireplace.

All I’ve found is stifled conversations with men who rarely end up in a date. When they do, I end up having mediocre meals with dudes who never ask me questions and then get upset when I don’t want to have sex with them.

I’ve currently got a match with a guy in Columbia named Crunch that might lead to dinner. Mostly, I’m just curious to see if he lives up to his name.

“Should I get another cat?” I ask once Nicole comes back to the phone.

“Get two,” she remarks. “Thelma needs to instruct the next generation in the art of being a bookstore store cat.”

The cat in question pads into the room and looks around. She starts meowing loudly. Her yowls fill my small bedroom. I pat the bed, and she beelines straight for the crook of my arm. She loafs and the purrs vibrate into my shoulder and chest.

“Did she forget that you exist?” Nicole asks.

“Yes.” I scritch my fingers along the top of the cat’s head. She presses up against me. “Do you think we’ll keep this library open?”

“Yes,” Nicole replies with a quickness that seems a little too confident. “We’ve got Johnny and the Lisas. We can do anything with them behind us. It’ll be ok.”

“I’m going to have to see Stephen Gott,” I moan and take off my glasses to rub my palm against my eyes. “That’s going to be so awkward.” I let my glasses rest on the bedspread, letting my vision stay blurry.

“Wait!” Her voice cuts through the line and it jerks me awake. “You should totally reach out to him.”

I roll my eyes. “Why? Just because I’m striking out with Aidan—”

“You are not striking out with Aidan.”

“Then why are you suggesting that I reach out to my ex-boyfriend? You better not tell me to get back together with him!”

I can hear Nicole’s recoil, even though I can’t see her. “Eww, no! But you could use your connection with him to convince him to change the budget. Why not? There’s no harm in trying, at least.”

I nod. “You’ve got a point.” We’re going to need all the angle we can get. He still remembers me, I think. His office sent me Christmas cards every year. “I could at least text the old number I have for him and see if it’s still his. Is it weird to text your high school ex-boyfriend fifteen out of the blue? We didn’t exactly end on a good note.”

“For him. You had every right to scream at him after you caught him in the bathroom with Bridgett Hartlett.” She pauses. “You were completely justified.”