Chapter 3
ROSIE
Istood outside the public library, only a short distance from my place, taking in the faded stone and columns with chipped paint on the outside, and almost turned back around.
When the shock of seeing Wesley and Caitlin had worn off, then came the embarrassment about how I flew out of the coffee shop.
I decided that I had no choice but to go to the book club.
One: I didn’t like to lie, so this made it…
less of one. Two: what did I actually have to lose?
So there I was. Although, now that I was standing there, I didn’t think it was such a good idea. I mean, what if no one showed up? It was midday on a Saturday. I started to turn around, only to bump into someone, because that’s just the way the day was going.
“I’m so sorry…” I rushed out my apology as I grabbed onto the person I had bumped into and tried to straighten them so they wouldn’t fall. But I only made it worse as my scarf somehow ended up twisted around both of us.
“Deary me, what in the world?” a voice that reminded me of apple pies asked.
I tried to squeak out an apology again, but it appeared that I was flailing, trying to get us untangled, and couldn’t form words.
“Love, just wait a second,” the voice said again, and I felt myself instantly relax.
“Ah, there we go. Just stuck a bit, somehow…”
Within seconds, the owner of the voice that put me at ease was finally standing in front of me, and she was short. I mean, I wasn’t tall, by any means—maybe 5’6—but she was maybe 5’ total. “Are you alright, dear? You seem to be in a state of disarray.”
The words stumbled out, but thankfully, this time, I was able to make a coherent sentence.
“I didn’t see you there. I’m so sorry. I was, uh…
Well, I was going to go in for the book club, and then I decided I should just go home instead, and well…
You’re so short. I don’t think I realized someone was behind me, and then I just… ” Did I just tell her she is short?
“Ran over me?” Her eyes twinkled as I continued to fall all over my words, and her half-moon glasses, a vibrant blue, were the perfect addition to her appearance. Her silver hair shimmered just like her eyes, and was swooped back into a loose bun.
“I’m really sorry about that,” I told her again, my face the color of a tomato.
“It’s in the past. So, coming to my book club?” she inquired. And now I definitely had to go, considering I basically ran her over with my own two feet.
“Oh, uh, yeah, I guess that is why I’m here.”
“Well, come on, then. You can help me get set up.” She patted the side of her bag. “I’m Maggie.” She looped her arm through mine. “And you are, love?”
Oh, yeah. I had been so distracted by the fact that she shook off my obvious distress that I didn’t realize I had yet to introduce myself.
“Rosie.” I kept my eyes on the ground, half hoping it would swallow me whole.
“Speak up, dear. I am old, you know,” she chastised me as she still somehow managed to drag me up stairs that I was slightly concerned were about to cave in under both our weights.
“Rosie,” I said, more clearly this time—and without my name getting stuck in my throat from the embarrassment of our encounter.
“Well, that just fits you perfectly. Come on. If we are late, the ladies will have my head.”
“Ladies?” I asked her. I was still reeling a bit from the entire encounter—actually, that entire day.
“Yes, dear. Usually, a club implies there are multiple people.” She patted my arm in an it’s okay way, and I felt the air as it passed my lips in a giggle.
We pushed through the doors, and maybe it was the crash of adrenaline from what just happened, but the air felt calm in there, steady.
It held a nostalgic quality or smell—actually, it was probably both.
I felt at ease for the first time in over twelve hours, and my shoulders seemed to give out under a weight I hadn’t been aware of.
“This way.” Maggie had made it a few steps ahead of me by then, and I realized I wasn’t moving at all. I was just standing still in the space, steady in air that finally didn’t ache to breathe.
“It’s just a library,” I muttered, almost in disbelief.
“It’s a place that holds a thousand beginnings, endings, and a million in-betweens.”
I looked over at her. She had stopped walking, and had turned to face me so she could take me in.
Her gaze poked and prodded, like she could see all my secrets.
It wasn’t like I had many. Just the one—the one where I was hopelessly, endlessly in love with someone who was never going to want me.
And there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.
Maggie pursed her lips, like she knew I’d been struggling to breathe.
“Welcome to book club, Rosie. I think it’s exactly what you need.”