AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Her smile is humorless. “You’re not obligated to tell me anything.”
“Yes, I am.” I swallow, and my throat is thick like I’ve been stung there by a bee.
“It did bother me.” She gazes at the trees as we pass them. “But you’re here now, aren’t you?” She reaches for my hand, the one that’s not on the steering wheel, and gives it a squeeze. Before I can say more, she speaks. “I’ve got to let the county know about Scott so they can call a mechanic.”
The euphoria I felt leading up to and during story time is diminishing. And I feel sick worrying about the direction things might take, and if I’m going to be able to fix it.
Chapter 28
Sophie
I’m at home, on my sofa, holding up the phone close to my face. Joe Driggs and Dora Slater are droning on about something on speaker, but it’s hard to focus on their words.
“I’m sure this isn’t what you wanted to hear. I’m sorry, Sophie.” Joe does sound genuine.
As is the case with many of the council members, I’ve known these two for as long as I can remember. When my mom got sick, Joe came and mowed the lawn and brought us meals on occasion. Dora taught band at the high school, and even though I totally sucked at the clarinet, she was always kind and encouraging to me.
“Look on the bright side,” Dora cuts in and I can tell she’s grabbed the phone from Joe. “Eventually, once everything gets sorted out, you’ll get a brand-new vehicle to drive around. Eventually.”
I know I complained about Scott being a blight in my life. But what am I supposed to do now?Come back to me, Scott! Come back to me.Besides, what about the petition for a brick-and-mortar location? Have they all forgotten about the list of signatures I gathered?
“How soon do you think the county can get another one?” I ask.
There’s a long pause on the other end, and then I hear the phone being manhandled and covered up, with muffled whispers shooting back and forth. I’m half tempted to hang up. Because of the amount of time it’s taken them to argue over my question, it’s clear I won’t want to hear what they have to say anyway.
When the bus broke down a few days ago, right from the get-go, it felt worse than normal. I’ve dealt with breakdowns through the years. But this time, with the unholy knocking sound, I knew. I just knew Scott was a goner.
I was in shock about it and then Oliver showed up, a knight come to save me. I could tell he was sorry he left for London without telling me, and the way he took over and had Scott towed—twice—was unbelievable. I could definitely get used to Oliver joining me at work. He made everything better.
But I can’t shake that these issues with him are the tip of the iceberg. His responses to his emergency trip to London feels like something much larger: a reminder of all the odds stacked against us. My grandparents are one issue, sure. The need to contact HR is another, and although that will be relatively painless, it’s hard to bring it up with Oliver. Because then this thing we have would have to be defined.
And then there’s another whisper of a concern: what Alec said about the past. I can ask Oliver about this. And I will. There are a lot of Tate brothers, so it wouldn’t even necessarily be anything to do with him.
I just need to get it over with and ask him. Knowledge is power, right? Ignorance is, most certainly, not bliss. It’s a tortuous state, where my imagination runs wild.
My thoughts are interrupted by the static on the other line and Dora’s voice coming in again, this time, too loudly—she’s got the phone too close to her mouth. “The purchase of a new library bus can’t even be discussed until the next meeting with the county.” There’s so much pity in her voice that my head starts to throb.
“And when is that?” I ask, jamming my eyes shut to brace for her answer.
“Normally, just next month. But with Longdale Days and the summer in full swing, we usually take June off. So it won’t be until July. The end of July.” She pauses. “Oh, but since we take June off, that means July’s meeting ends up being hours long just to get caught up. There’s actually a good chance there won’t be time to bring it up until August’s meeting. I’m so sorry, Sophie.”
August? I can’t believe it. What am I going to do until then? And that’s just when the meeting to decide what to do will be. Who knows when Marshall County will take action on the decision? And will I even be getting a paycheck until then?
When I don’t answer, Joe cuts in. “For right now, we need to remove all the books and everything from the premise. It’s going to be sold for its parts.”
I suck in a deep breath.
“Now, Joe,” Dora chides. “You don’t have to say it like that. You’re so brutal.”
“Brutal? She deserves to know the truth.”
“It’s fine,” I say, but I don’t think either of them hear me. Dora’s too busy getting after Joe.
“Of course she deserves to know. I just think since she’s been our county librarian for, what’s it been, over ten years, she’s going to be sad about her bus being sold like that. It’s traumatic.”
Joe’s laugh is gruff. “Traumatic? I mean, I can think of a lot of other things that would be traumatic. Unfortunate? Yes. But if I were her, I’d be relieved to be rid of the sorry sack of--”
“Joe!” Dora cuts in. “We don’t know the future of the library program. There are no guarantees. I just think you could work on your delivery. I know Nancy feels the same way.”
