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I still don’t know Harry’s story, so it’s hard to assure him they won’t look down on him. But this is exactly why we’re doing this. To open up a dialogue, to allow people the space to see their actions have a direct effect on others. ‘All we can hope for, Harry, is that members will sit back and listen to your tale and see you’re just like the rest of us.Fallible. It’s harder to judge someone when you’re sitting there face to face with a person who is opening up their life and heart to you, sharing their innermost thoughts and feelings. Regrets. Mistakes. None of us are perfect, Harry – that’s really important to remember. The person sitting across from you has their very own story too, and they’vealsomade mistakes. Weallhave.’
Harry’s lips wobble. Have I made things worse? ‘Here comes Sofia now,’ he says with a deep sigh as she carries a tray with a teapot and a plate of scones.
‘I’ll get the cups,’ I say and head back into the kitchen. When I return Harry is tucking into a scone laden with jam and cream. Sofia sits beside him with a triumphant smile on her face. ‘Harry’s little wobble is over,’ she says. ‘He’s ready to shine a light on his life, and I for one am very proud of him. I feel daunted by the prospect myself but we’ll all be here for each other.’
Harry nods, wiping crumbs from his mouth with a tissue. ‘What you said, Elodie, about none of us being perfect, that struck a chord. If I don’t speak up now, I never will. As hard as it is, I’m going to do it to the best of my ability. People judge me on sight. I’d rather they judge me once they know my life and what I’ve lived through …’
My heart expands with love for him. It takes great courage to tread this path and I’m proud of him for it. ‘Oh, Harry, thank you! If you’resureyou’re comfortable going ahead with it? None of us will think less of you if you don’t go ahead.’
‘I’m sure.’
I let out a squeal, which catches even me by surprise. I’m wound up tight and I expect that’s going to be the case until this is over. ‘I’ll be right beside you.’
‘I won’t be far away either,’ Sofia says.
Donatella and her father arrive, so I wave them in. ‘Sofia, would you mind helping Donatella with the catering?’
‘Ooh I’d love to! This is the Italian goddess you were telling me about? She’s rebranded her father’s pizzeria, Harry. We’ll have to go there for dinner, eh? What do you say? You look like a risotto man to me.’
‘Well, I do have this fancy new suit.’
I grin as Sofia wanders over to Donatella and introduces herself.
The time for Harry’s first ‘reading’ approaches as I buzz about making last-minute checks that everything is set up and ready. Maisie is signing up new members, so I want to make sure she’s OK. Outside, a queue forms and I smile to myself. Everyone wants to be part of this, even though it’s a members-only event. ‘You OK here?’ I ask her. Things have been calmer since our chat. She even texted me a couple of funny cat memes over the weekend.
‘I’m good. If I look frazzled then that’s your cue to come and help.’
‘OK, define how frazzled looks on you?’
‘Like my head is about to bust wide open.’
‘OK, got it. I’ll do one last check and be back to help.’
Half an hour later I check the membership numbers and am thrilled to see we only need 245 more! Over halfway there and there’s still a queue of people so I stand beside Maisie and we get through them as fast as possible.
When we’ve caught up I welcome everyone to the seating area. They stop and stare at the huge sign strung above.
What do you see when you look at me?
‘Welcome to the People Library,’ I say and hand out information cards. ‘Today is an introduction to what you have in store over the coming months. Today we have Harry as our very first human book. If you’d like to reserve a spot with him, please find Maisie who’ll gladly take your details. Don’t worry if you don’t get a spot today; Harry will be back. And we are also offering upcoming reservations with Alfie, Pete and Sofia.’
In front of the seating area is another sign that reads:
Welcome to Willow Grove library. Feel free to peruse the books on offer today. However, there’s a catch – our books are humans, ready and willing to share their real-life stories. Choose the ‘book’ that most intrigues you. But before you do, we ask you to make us a promise: please don’t judge a book by its cover. Everyone’s story is special as you’ll soon see if you read between the lines.
You may recognise the ‘books’ on offer today. You may even think you’ve already heard their stories, but we encourage you to leave judgement at the door, because you don’t know their story, not really.So what are you waiting for? Choose your book, pull up a chair and read in a whole new way …
The air is electric with anticipation and I only hope Harry is doing OK behind the scenes. Sofia’s got him sequestered in a cubicle giving him another pep talk.
Finn wanders in. The sight of him in a snug grey suit momentarily makes my legs buckle. He looks like aGQcover model pretending to be a reporter. How did I get to be so lucky? When he sees me his face breaks into a smile. ‘There you are,’ he says as if he’s spent his whole life looking for me. ‘Ready for this?’
I knit my fingers together. ‘More than ready. Harry had a bit of a crisis of confidence this morning, but he’s pulled it together.’
Finn makes a face. ‘Poor guy. It has to be intimidating, especially being first and with all thesepeople.’ He glances around the library, which is jam-packed with bodies who are mostly pretending to peruse the books, but actually tracking my every move as if not wanting to miss a thing. ‘Where did theycomefrom?’
‘I don’t care as long as they’ve joined up!’
He grins. ‘How are the numbers going?’
