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“I don’t want to harass her and scare her away.”
“So, you’ll just harass me instead, huh?”
“You’re family. You have to put up with me. And besides, who’s going to feed you all the time if you stop coming around here?” she asks with a smart-alec smirk on her face. I shove the last of my cookie in my mouth and stand from the table. I brush the crumbs from my hands and land a loud, smacking kiss on Nana’s cheek.
“I gotta go. I’m meeting some friends for a game of baseball,” I say as I get ready to head out. In reality, I have more than enough time, but once Nana decides she has to know something, she’s not going to let it go. I make my escape quickly before she can pepper me with any more questions.
It’s 7:00, and the baseball game just ended. My team lost by two runs—a loss I plan to avenge next week at the same time, same place. Some friends and I have had a long-standing Thursday evening baseball game here at the park for well over two years now. From fall through spring, we play from 5:00 until the sun goes down or we get tired. In the summer, we typically push it back later to avoid the sweltering heat.
The park is right beside the public library, and apparently, the women’s book club starts at 7:00. I’m watching the steady stream of women trickle into the parking lot and walk in together, laughing. I recognize most of them.
“What are you staring at?” my friend Seth asks, sitting down beside me. He’s watching the direction of my gaze with his brows scrunched up in confusion.
“Nothing. Nana just mentioned that the new librarian is going to be at their book club tonight,” I reply with a shrug of my shoulders to show that it’s no big deal.
Seth narrows his eyes at me and bites his bottom lip. “You have a thing for librarians, little Jamesy?”
I stand up from the bench and say, “What? Gosh, no! She’s my new neighbor and Nana and Pop’s tenant for their rental house. I was just wondering how she’s doing.”
“Hmm, you seem awfully defensive,” Seth chuckles.
“What’s going on?” our other friend Colby strides up to ask.
“Jameson has the hots for the librarian,” Seth supplies.
“Isn’t Gertrude ninety years old? Or you better not be talking about my sister, man!” Colby asks with a look of half disgust, half anger on his face.
“Not Gertrude or Hannah. Gosh, man. The new children’s librarian. She literally just moved next door to me today,” I correct him.
“So, you admit it. You have the hots for her,” Seth says with a triumphant smirk on his face. He’s a know-it-all, and it irks me to no end. I rub my hand down my face and growl in frustration. “Does she wear her hair in a bun with pencils tucked behind her ear? Does she have thick-framed glasses?” he asks.
Colby continues the joke and says, “Does she have a closet full of cardigans? I bet her favorite word is, ‘Shhh.’”
“I don’t have feelings for her. I’ve only met her once, and she thought I was coming to arrest her.” That has both of them rolling on the ground, cackling like hyenas. Colby is laughing so hard he falls off the bench and brings Seth crashing down with him. I stand off to the side and resist the urge to throat-punch both of them.
I grab my things and stomp over to the library in annoyance. I take deep breaths, determined to calm down before I enter the building. It doesn’t work because I hear Seth call from behind me, “What are you going to do in the library? Do you even know how to read? Maybe the new librarian can teach you.” He and Colby both dissolve into a fit of laughter again. I tune them out and keep walking.
The library is quiet when I first enter, but as I walk farther back, I can hear the chatter coming from the conference room. I have a good view of the room. It looks like there are about fifteen women. More than the usual ten Nana mentioned but still not enough to eat the mountain of cookies she made.
“Are you interested in joining the book club?” a quiet voice asks behind me. I jump and turn around so fast it makes my head spin. I use a hand to prop myself up against the wall and fix my eyes on Millie. “I can get the sign-up sheet and book list for you. I must warn you, though…” She leans in, and I can smell her citrusy perfume as she whispers, “They’re all romance novels.” A nervous smile spreads across her face, and my head spins again for a completely different reason. She’s beautiful and funny, and I know I’m sporting a dopey grin.
I stand up straight and cross my arms over my chest, trying desperately to not look like the dork that I am.
“Oh, um, no. I was just playing baseball over at the park and came in to check out a book before heading home,” I say. I rub my chin, now scratchy with stubble at the end of the day. Her gaze follows my hand, and I watch as her mouth parts. “Alright, I’ll let you get to your book club,” I say too loudly.
The next thing I know, Nana is practically running out of the conference room to tackle me. “Jameson, sweetie. What are you doing here?” she asks with a knowing glint in her eyes. “I know you’re not interested in reading or discussing romance novels with a bunch of women,” she says with an elbow to the side. You wouldn’t think it would hurt too bad since she’s so little, but those bony elbows can do some damage. I yelp in pain and scooch away from the hellion.
“Ouch! Nana, do you have a license to carry those weapons? I just came to look at some books.”
“As a matter of fact, I do,” she says before turning to Millie. “I hope it wasn’t too presumptuous, having my knuckleheaded grandson here drop off those groceries earlier,” she says.
“Oh, no. It was wonderful! Right before I got the veggies, I was despairing the fact that Lo and I would have to live on rice and beans for a month because moving is so insanely expensive,” she says with a laugh. But I see the shadows in her eyes. She’s not joking. This woman has been through more than she’s letting on.
“Lo?” Nana asks.
“Oh, my younger sister. Lorraine, but everyone calls her Lo. She hates her name.”
“Why would she hate such a lovely name?” Nana asks her. Millie’s face turns the deepest shade of red I’ve ever seen on anyone’s face before, and her eyes are darting between me and Nana. There’s something she doesn’t want to tell us.
