Lois smiled. ‘Surely because it’s highly unusual for someone in their thirties to have been single forever. Everyone’s had at least a dalliance by then.’
‘Gosh, you’re full of words no-one else uses any more today,’ he teased. ‘Now you’re single are you going down the Tinder road?’
He hadn’t answered her.
‘No, I don’t think I can face it. My friend, Steph, you know, from the bar, has had some shocking Tinder dates but she sticks with it, reckons it’s the only way things are done now.’
‘I’m sure it is,’ he said. ‘It wouldn’t be for me though. Have you done it before?’
‘No,’ Lois admitted. ‘I met my ex-boyfriend in the pub which isn’t that surprising once you know him.’
‘You see? That’s how it used to be done. Meet in a pub or club. Always used to work for me.’
‘Well, the thought of that terrifies me just as much. But you know the other day when you were saying we should have a coffee sometime when we talk about that CL Taylor book? I’m thinking that might work as an idea for the library. We’re going to try a book club where just two people meet to talk about the book. A date with a book.’
‘Do I get commission?’
Lois rolled her eyes.
‘Seriously, I’m glad you’re thinking of things to revitalise the library. As much as I love Rosemary, she did have it firmly planted in… the 1970s, was it?’
Lois grinned and managed to hold in the laughter that threatened to bubble up again. ‘Thanks for the idea. I’d better get back to the time warp.’
As she was leaving, the guy with the laptop intercepted her.
‘I couldn’t help but overhear you talking to Oliver about a book club.’
‘That’s right, we’re starting one at the library. Just pop in if you want to sign up.’
‘Great, will do. I’m Toby.’
Toby held his hand out for Lois to shake.
‘Lois.’
‘You’ll see him again, Lois. He practically lives here during the week,’ Oliver called from behind the counter.
‘Sadly, that is true.’ Toby smiled. ‘Anyway, thank you. I’m quite keen on the idea of the book club.’
‘Because you heard the word ‘date’?’ Oliver teased him.
Toby blushed but grinned good-naturedly. ‘I need all the help I can get in that department,’ he said.
‘It’s not meant to be a romance thing but you never know,’ said Lois.
Lois glanced at Oliver who was also grinning as he rolled his eyes. ‘He’s avoiding Tinder, like the rest of us.’
‘Anything involving books has got to be worth a try.’
Lois left Oliver’s hoping that Toby’s enthusiasm for the book club was a good sign that people would be as interested in it as he seemed to be.
12
Linda took to using Twitter like a duck to water and it had definitely helped to spread the word about the new displays. By the time they had their next Thursday meeting they had over a hundred followers and Linda was keen to try out Instagram, to ‘get with the kids’, she said. They’d also been pushing the fact that they had computer terminals that could be used – they were even switched on these days - and that had drawn a few people in. Lois had helped a few of the more elderly customers to set up email accounts.
Oliver had dropped in some loyalty cards and said he’d do a discount for anyone who wanted a coffee to take to the library given that they didn’t have their own café like some of the bigger libraries. Lois couldn’t believe the effort people were willing to make to help out and she began to wonder whether they could do more than just go out with a bang.
Rosemary had come up trumps with a plan for the date-with-a-book club. She thought they should choose one book from each of their three displays each month which would give people a choice of genre. They could then make sure they got extra copies of those books into the library. Readers who wanted to join in would fill in a card when they had finished the book and then everyone who had read a particular book would be matched with someone else and would meet their coffee buddy at a designated book club meeting.
