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"Well, ma'am, I was just wonderin' if it'd be alright if I kept holdin' onto thatFarawayTreebook for a spell longer.”
"I know I missed the due date and all, but it's just so dang good, and I got a heap of homework that's been eating up my time somethin' fierce.
"Could I maybe bring it back in four days or so, pretty please?"
Janie's tongue grew sweeter than the tea in front of me with each word she uttered.
Her eyes enlarged in a dual attempt to convince me she was an adorable little Dachshund and that I had to excuse the late return.
It never failed.
I covered my lips with my hand in a poor attempt to conceal my grin.
"Okay, Janie, but this is the last time. Do you promise to read to the younger kids next week in return?"
She bobbed her head of golden hair enthusiastically. "I do!"
"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?
