Page 82
Moving quickly to the desk, I set my breakfast down. The bag had a note written in block letters. It looked like Ethan had used the same marker I had.
Please have lunch with me. E.
With quivering hands, I opened the bag to find two scones.
A laugh bubbled up in my throat. We’d had the same idea. Either Clara had let him in and hidden it from me or someone from the Monday morning club had, since a couple of their members had a key.
I pulled out my phone to text him.
There were already typing bubbles in our message thread.
Andre: Yes. Special Blend or Red’s or somewhere else?
Ethan: Yes. Red’s or Special Blend or wherever.
The timing of our messages was almost comical as we’d simultaneously sent them.
Ethan: Special Blend works great. 12:30?
Andre: Perfect. See you then.
My phone buzzed again.
Ethan: BTW, the maple tarts were a nice touch. Tommy and Milo were very sneaky about delivering them.
The extra message made my heart lift. It felt like progress.
Andre: The scones were perfect too. Great minds…
I set my phone aside, trying to focus on preparing for the call, but my mind kept drifting to lunch, hoping we’d leave there with a way forward.
At precisely nine, I took a deep breath and clicked to join the virtual meeting.
“Andre! So wonderful to see you.” Stella Bradley’s warm smile filled my screen. She wore her usual stylish glasses with frames that had a purple and blush swirl of color. Her salt-and-pepper hair was in a neat bob. “I hope I’m not interrupting your post-festival recovery too much.”
“Not at all.” I straightened in my chair. “I’m eager to hear about the opportunity you mentioned.”
“I want to take just a moment to say I loved watching some of the festival live stream. You all had some fantastic programming, especially the history sessions on Thursday and Friday’s author talks.”
Oh wow, she’d seen the stream. It never occurred to me that someone from the association would watch.
“I’m so glad you enjoyed it. I’ll let the team know. The stream was a project headed by some students from University of Vermont.”
“A student-led project. That makes it even better as far as I’m concerned.” She paused and adjusted her glasses. “So, let me get into what we’ve been thinking about. We’ve been impressed with your banned books initiative. The way you’ve engaged the community, created safe spaces for discussion, and have such an extensive collection is a remarkable achievement for a town the size of Maplewood. Then there’s the work you’ve done to help other libraries launch similar programs.”
My chest swelled with pride. “Thank you. I couldn’t do it without the support of our staff and patrons.”
“With your experience, we’d like you to come work with us.” She leaned forward. “We want to launch a nationwide program to encourage and support libraries to develop similar initiatives. We need someone to lead it. Someone who understands both the practical and emotional aspects of this work.”
I blinked, processing her words. “Are you saying…”
“We’d like you to head up the project.” Her smile widened. “It would be a one-year contract based in Seattle with some travel to other regions. You’d be developing training and marketing materials, mentoring other librarians, scaling up what you’ve done in Maplewood.”
Seattle. Where Ethan lived most of the time. Talk about a coincidence.
“This is… wow.” I struggled to find the right words. “I’m honored. Can I ask about the timeline?”
“Of course.” She pulled up what looked like a calendar. “We’d want you to start in September, which would give you time to transition things in Maplewood. The bulk of the work would be September through May, with more flexibility in the summer months. We imagine you could be in Maplewood for the summer, especially Pride month, since we know that’s important to you.”
