“Thank you so much,” I said softly.
“For what?” she asked as she climbed into the driver’s side.
“For all of this.” I buckled myself in and then gestured toward the trunk. “It’s going to make the apartment feel even more like a home now.”
She smiled. “Well, I’m glad to help. You want to head down there now and unload all this?”
“You have time?”
“Yep.”
“That would be great, actually. I kind of want to surprise Brooks.”
“Surprise Brooks, huh?”
“Okay, what are you asking without actually asking?” I demanded.
She started the engine and put the car into gear. “I don’t think my stuff is the only reason the apartment is starting to feel like a home.”
“Oh good. Another insightful woman in my life,” I quipped.
She laughed. “Am I wrong?”
“No.” I bit my lip. “But Ijustmet him. And yet it feels like I’ve known him forever.”
“Hmm. Yeah. I understand that all too well.” When I was silent for a moment, she said, “What is it you’re trying to figure out, Poet?”
“Life. I’m trying to figure out my life.”
“Can I tell you a secret?”
“Please.”
She flashed a grin. “You never figure it out.”
“Never?”
“Never. You just live it. That’s all you can do.”
Jane helped me get everything up to the apartment but then had to leave almost immediately because a golden retriever ate a pair of silk panties, and she got called into emergency surgery.
I had no ride back to the Ridge, so I was stuck in town. It didn’t matter, though. I knew how to occupy myself. I grabbed my keys and cell and locked up.
Silver Street was bustling. Families flocked to The Diner and Sweet Teeth. The Copper Mule was closed, but at night, it would be full of adults. Teenagers hung out on benches and sidewalks.
As I walked through town, I thought about belonging. All of us searched for a place to call home, a place of familiarity. We craved community, a village, somewhere to belong.
I ambled through town and smiled when I found myself standing outside the Huckleberry Hill Library. It was as if my soul knew where to take me.
The Huckleberry Hill library was an elegant, restored brick building with a brass plaque on the exterior that read EST. 1904.
I opened the heavy wooden door and was greeted by one of my favorite sights.
Books.
Shelves of books.
Rows of books.
