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"Good girl. Off you go."
It was an unseasonably warm day here in the heart of Oakmont, Georgia, but I wasn't complaining.
I sat behind the circulation desk of The Quill and Hearth Library, a place as whimsical as its name. We actually allowed patrons to sip on sweet tea while they read their books.
I enjoyed the slow heat and the bird-like chattering of children. I loved the lower level for this very reason. It was a wonderland for the little ’uns.
We had a storytime event later that day. I could count on the little regulars to show up and demand a new fairytale. I'd been studying up for it too.
Maybe I could just talk about how Rapunzel should have gone renegade and used her hair to whip the shit outta that evil woman who'd caged her.
Or maybe I was just mad because I'd had a pretty sour conversation with Mama not ten minutes ago.
Funny thing about people who adored you—they knew your cues.
They didn't need to say much, but oh, when they were positioning to attack you, and I mean verbally decimate your soul, all they needed was one word.
Or a line. Or a few of them. You get what I mean.
"You're about to hit the big three-o and still ain't got yourself a man. What the hell are you waiting for?"
"When you gonna find a beau who's worth his weight in grits?"
Ugh. She didn't need to tell me I was old and single. In fact, no one did. I could feel the life force between my legs drying up.
I tried to focus on the pretty little place that gave me so much joy.
Big windows let in buttery-yellow sunshine, and every nook and corner had a cozy reading space.
There were rows and rows of books, neatly arranged by subject and author and utterly orgasmic for my OCD-fueled mind. Hey, I was a girl who loved her lists and her shelves.
You wanted fun? You had to have a method to it.
I let out a satisfied sigh as a ray of light fell most becomingly over the dark wooden shelves. They looked lush as a lover's embrace, a comfortable in-between of secrets and safety.
My job was to make sure this place remained as calm as it looked.
Easier said than done when I was always around kids.
I couldn't help chuckling as I heard a ‘"squee'" from their section. Some newbies had to have found a new adventure. That's why we turn to books anyway, right?
We couldn't physically be everywhere all at once. But in the library, you could train your mind to take you wherever you wanted to go.
You could even get married to the fanciest Prince Charming. Not that it would ease my mama's heart.
Life was good in Oakmont, though, all things considered. As they said around here, "If you don't like the weather, just wait five minutes."
And I didn't mind sticking around longer. Better than going home to nothing. I could call Sadie or one of the girls.
I just didn't want another pity party today. Hell, I'd get enough of it in a week when I actually hit the big three-o.
Bam!
I jumped up from my desk to investigate the source of the loud crash. On crossing two rows, I found a group of kids who'd built a fort out of picture books.
They were all hooting and hollering, running around as if they were facing down an army of monsters.
I could hear one of them, a scrappy little boy with a missing tooth, shouting, "Y'all ain't gonna beat us! We got the strongest fort in all of Oakmont!"
