It was the first morning that she had opened the library up by herself. Linda was usually there first and as she lived so close by, had even been opening up on her days off until Lois got the hang of the alarm and knew what needed switching on and off.
Lois found there was something magical about being the first person there in the morning. The stillness as she walked in was incredible and she found herself tiptoeing around the place as she turned everything on. It was like waking the library up from a peaceful slumber.
She got straight on with her morning chores, thinking that a Saturday could easily be much busier than she was used to in the week. It was a couple of years since she’d routinely worked on Saturdays. Once she’d been promoted to deputy manager at the Hive, she had Monday to Friday shifts and having Saturdays off had been a relief because Alex constantly complained that she wasn’t around at the weekends. Even though she’d had every fourth Saturday off, he’d inevitably spent it watching football at the pub with his mates. Now that he had left, it was nice to have something to fill the weekend again and nice not to have to battle with anyone about it.
By half-past nine, a trickle of parents and children began, turning into a steady stream by late morning. In the Saturday morning tradition of many households with young children, lots of them had clearly been swimming at the local pool on the way. It was the most buzzing that Lois had seen the library since she’d started there.
She was surprised that no-one was asking anything of her. In the Hive, they were inundated by children asking to reserve copies of the latest David Walliams book or the endlessly popular Harry Potter books but here, everyone was very quiet and reverential. It was weird. When Lois then heard a parent shush a child who was exclaiming about a book they had found, she decided to step in.
‘Morning everyone!’ she said in a loud voice. Everyone turned to look at her, clearly stunned that anyone should use such a loud voice in the library. ‘Just to let you know, we are making a few changes to the library, so please don’t feel it’s necessary to keep your children quiet. The library is for everyone.’ A few parents mumbled a thank you and then they all went back to what they had been doing, just as quietly as before. Oh well, it wasn’t going to change overnight.
Because she was alone in the library, Lois couldn’t have a lunch break. She had planned for it and bought food that was easy to snack on behind the desk when she had chance in between customers. She had just opened a packet of crisps when the door opened, Oliver walked in and placed a brown paper bag on the desk in front of her.
‘Lunch is served,’ he smiled.
‘But I didn’t order lunch,’ said Lois.
‘It’s a standing order on a Saturday. I used to do it for Rosemary and I do it for Linda on days when there’s just one of you working. Rosemary mentioned this would be your first Saturday by yourself so I just thought, you know,’ he said, looking slightly awkward.
Lois was touched not only by his thoughtfulness but by Rosemary’s in tipping him off. ‘That’s great, thank you. How much do I owe you?’
‘Nothing this time. I did spring it on you, after all. Let me know if you don’t want to carry it on but if you do, I’ll put it on your tab next time,’ he said as he backed out of the door.
‘Do you want to stay for a cuppa?’ she asked, before realising how ridiculous it was to be offering him a drink when he’d just bought one for her.
‘Another time, I need to get back. But thanks.’
Lois opened the bag to find a deliciously warm avocado and tomato toasted sandwich. It gave her a glow inside when she realised he had chosen for her exactly what she would have chosen for herself and thank goodness, there was nothing she had to do, no-one to serve so she sat back and enjoyed it. Oliver must have a helper at weekends then, she thought. It must be the busiest day of the week for him, and he wouldn’t have closed the place while he popped her lunch in. He was so thoughtful.
When Lois left that evening it was dark and cold. She cycled up the high street and saw that Oliver’s was still open. It looked warm and inviting. Perhaps she would just pop in to thank him properly for her lunch. She pulled up on the opposite side of the road but while she was waiting to cross, she saw the woman from the bar inside, his old friend and she was wearing an Oliver’s apron. They were clearing tables together. He was smiling and she was laughing at something he’d said.
Lois got back on her bike and cycled. The high she’d been on since lunchtime rapidly dissipated as she taunted herself by remembering how that woman had been looking at Oliver in the bar. She was some kind of old friend who’d been a lot more than that at some point, Lois was certain. Every moment that she’d felt something between her and Oliver was cast into doubt as she rode along the road that had become so familiar. There was nothing to distract her from doing anything other than convincing herself that she’d imagined everything.
The house was in darkness and once she’d pulled off her coat and helmet, she made herself some beans on toast with plenty of cheese and lashings of Worcestershire Sauce, poured herself a glass of wine and settled herself on the sofa ready forStrictly, trying not to think about how envious she was of the evening that the woman in Oliver’s was enjoying right now.
10
Rosemary had done a great job of making three genre-specific displays. They’d gone for crime/thriller, contemporary women’s fiction/romcoms and biographies/autobiographies. Between the three of them, they’d managed to write a few reviews to stick on the shelves and they had begun suggesting to customers that they may want to submit their own reviews.
On Tuesday, when Linda had gone to lunch, Rosemary came over to the desk.
‘Lois, I owe you an apology.’
Lois opened her mouth to object, but Rosemary raised her hand and made a face that meant she didn’t want to hear anything from Lois.
‘I can see now how things should have been run here,’ she began. ‘What you have done has only enhanced the library and I wish I had been more open to such ideas while I was Librarian, then we may not be in the situation that we find ourselves in now.’
Lois was stunned that Rosemary should be so frank about what she thought. ‘I really appreciate that Rosemary, and we couldn’t have done it without you. The displays have been a big hit. We’ll see what else we can come up with. Perhaps the three of us could have a brainstorming meeting on Thursday when you’re here.’ She stopped, then said more gently, ‘I’m not sure you could have stopped the library being on the closure list, Rosemary but let’s give it the best send-off we can. At least make County Libraries wonder what they’re giving up.’
‘Wonderful, thank you, Lois.’ Rosemary managed a smile then went to collect her things from the office.
What if they did make enough changes at Croftwood Library to turn things around? Was it possible to reverse the decision with less than six months until the closure? It was already a far cry from what Lois had expected the job to be like when she’d first looked round. Even implementing the few changes they had so far seemed like a huge step forward. Maybe they could make enough of a difference. She resolved to talk to Robert and get his take on things.
While Linda was still gone, Lois began to pick at her lunch. A gorgeous, toasted sandwich from Oliver’s would have been much nicer than the limp cheese sandwich she’d half-heartedly made that morning but she picked tiny bits of bread and cheese from it as she sat there, with no drive left to do anything.
‘Hey.’ A voice broke into her thoughts. It was Oliver, strolling through the door as he unbuttoned his coat. It was a surprise to see him walk straight from her daydream into the library. It just went to show how much she was still thinking about him at the moment despite her vow to forget about any possibility of romance with him once she’d forced herself to stop moping at the weekend.
‘Hi. Are you not open today?’
