Chapter 3 Dottie
The late afternoon sun slanted in through the windows of New New Franklin’s community library, highlighting the dust motes dancing in the air.
I liked it best this time of day. The foragers were still out in the abandoned old town of Franklin, and the builders were working hard to expand our growing settlement.
And the best part? Most of the children were still in their evening classes, and the library was quiet and still.
Well, almost still.
I froze with a copy of Fifty Ways to Cook Canned Beans Without Crying in my hand as a tiny, furry blur of gray darted across the stacks. I didn’t quite stifle the shriek in time, and my scream rang out through the library.
“What’s wrong?” Max asked as he came running from the front counter, wielding a heavy stapler in one hand like a weapon.
Max was a tall, skinny young man who looked more suited for a college campus than a post-apocalyptic settlement.
He was the new hire brought on now that Kiera spent most of her time traveling with her hunter.
He took over part of her old job of categorizing and logging pre-bug websites, as well as helping around the library.
“Mouse,” I said before taking several calming breaths. “It’s just a mouse. Surprised me, that’s all.”
I wasn’t actually scared of the little rodents, not when we’d spent the last few years fighting the much larger and deadlier space bugs that now roamed Earth. But that hadn’t stopped the scream that naturally came when seeing something moving where it wasn’t supposed to be.
“Someone must’ve brought food into the library again.” Max’s keen eyes scanned the shelves. “Aha!” He reached up high and picked up a piece of wax wrapping from the top shelf.
We exchanged a look. That was from a Xarc’n food bar. The things were so tough that it was rare to find humans eating them as is, and there was only one Xarc’n warrior who’d stepped foot in the library in the past week or so: Rajiv’k!
I took the evidence from Max. “I’ll talk to Natalie the next time I see her.”
Max followed me back to the tables piled high with the new books I’d been sorting all afternoon.
Most of them were romance novels and thrillers, with a few technical manuals, which was great because those were the types of books most in demand.
It was hard to keep them on the shelves, especially during the cold winter months when we were all stuck indoors with not much to do but read, craft, or tinker with old tech.
Over the last few years, New Franklin’s official library had grown from a half dozen boxes of salvaged books to nearly overflowing out of the space we’d allotted for it.
That was why we’d had to make the big move over to the community center.
There was a lot more space here to grow.
And people actually came now, not just to research how to do X, Y, and Z, but just to escape for a little while inside a good book.
“Ooh, look at all those goodies!” Max exclaimed, his eyes on all the new thriller titles we’d acquired.
“Want to switch for a while? You get these processed, and I’ll take the front desk?”
“Yes, do I ever!”
I’d known Max was a perfect fit for the library the moment I saw the way his eyes lit up at all the books. Today was Saturday, which meant both Max and Kiera were in, and I didn’t technically need to be here, but I was hiding from a certain purple warrior.
I’d seen him again the next morning after the knitting group. I’d been hungover as hell and kind of glad he didn’t approach me. But the way he looked at me made me feel all funny inside, in the best of ways.
Since then, I’d kept noticing him around, almost like he was trying to find me but just missing the mark.
It was probably because I’d been avoiding him the best I could.
I’d even disappeared into the ladies’ change room once, and let the surprised yells of all the other women do the dirty work for me.
Okay, so that was a little cheap, but I’d been desperate! And since then, he’d been easier to evade because he was a lot more tentative about going through closed doors.
It wasn’t that I didn’t want him to find me. Hell, my sex-starved brain kept making up NSFW scenarios of what might happen if he did. But I’d been out of the dating scene for so long—it had been decades since my ex-husband courted me, and our kid was grown—and I didn’t know what to say.
Hey, sexy stranger, thanks for the kiss?
Sorry for drunk-jumping your bones the other night?
Hi, I’m Dottie, and I swear I’m totally not a lush?
Everything sounded so lame. And part of me worried that he’d finally catch up with me, and I’d have to explain that I wasn’t interested in anything more.
And the other part of me worried that he’d catch up and be disappointed.
He was sexy as sin, a total silver fox. And I was…
I was Dottie, the post-menopausal divorcee who’d given up on men.
Sure, I loved who I was. I loved my books.
I loved almost any fiber craft, from knitting to spinning to tatting.
And no, I didn’t knit because I was old; I’d been brandishing knitting needles since I made my first tube top as a teenager.
I’d snuck out of the house wearing it, much to my mother’s dismay.
I collected candles and crystals before they were popular.
I was me, and I wouldn’t change myself for anything.
But would he like me as I was? Just asking the question felt wrong. It was the opposite of what I was and what I stood for. I shouldn’t care at all because I didn’t need no man. I’d gone through the whole marriage thing once already, and I was done.
I had handed my good-for-nothing ex the divorce papers the day after our kid left for college.
My duty was done, and I was ready to actually live my life.
Martin had acted like it was the biggest surprise, like literal years of telling him that I didn’t feel loved or cared for hadn’t mattered.
Like the porch light that hadn’t worked for over a decade because he kept saying he’d fix it, but got angry whenever I asked about it, didn’t count.
Like all the times I had to give up something I loved because he wouldn’t budge an inch were worthless.
After the divorce, I’d gotten a glow-up.
Or was that a glow-down because I ditched the pastels and brought in the black and jewel tones?
I gave up on contacts and went for heavy cat-eye frames.
Instead of the demure short French tips Martin had thought perfect for polite company, I painted my claws a bold burgundy or purple.
Then, when that streak at the front of my hair turned white, I dyed it pink.
And for the first time in my life, I finally felt like me.
And my ex? He’d gotten remarried almost immediately, trading in for a newer model who’d been a cookie-cutter version of me when I was twenty, prim and proper, clad in pastels, and ready to be his bang maid.
I wondered if she knew she’d be giving up her freedom for the rest of her life? Needless to say, I got the better deal.
Since then, I’d sworn off men, and I’d never been happier.
With Max processing the books and getting them into our system and ready to circulate, I made my way back to the front of the library only to find a younger boy waiting at the counter. His clothes were ratty, and he’d tracked a trail of puddles from the late-season snow outside.
He looked to be about nine or ten years old. I didn’t recognize him, and I thought for sure I knew all the kids at the settlement by now since they all had one hour a week at the library as part of their schooling.
“Hello, how can I help you?” I asked, putting on my friendliest face.
The boy fidgeted. “I would like to get a library card.”
That was strange. I was pretty sure that most of the school-age children in the settlement already had one.
“What’s your name?
“Jason.”
“What’s your last name, Jason? And what’s your address?”
Addresses were pretty simple here in New Franklin, at least for now. Instead of street names, we used building names and room numbers. Eventually, when the settlement grew large enough, we’d probably have to use street names again, but until then our system worked well.
Jason frowned. “Jason Woo,” he said. “And I don’t remember my address.”
Okay, that was even stranger still.
Max, who’d been listening to the conversation, came to the rescue. “Oh! You must be part of that group they took in yesterday!”
“Yes, sir,” Jason said.
Max turned to me. “There were a bunch of boys in that group. Remember those boys who came to trade with us last year?”
“The private school ones!” I exclaimed, realizing who he was. I’d heard about the group of boys from a private boarding school who had survived the bugpocalypse by working together, but I’d never actually met them. It was wild to me that a bunch of kids could survive on their own for so long.
“Yup, those ones. They showed up again and wanted to join up.”
I looked down at the boy. He was a scrawny thing. “How old are you?” I asked, curious.
“Don’t know. But I was in grade one when the bugs came.”
“That was about six years ago, so you should be around twelve,” Max said.
Twelve! He looked so much younger, probably because he’d been malnourished during part of his growth. That was okay—a few years with us and he’d be back to normal, hopefully.
The kid shrugged. “I don’t remember it. The older boys took care of us.”
“Well, since you aren’t a New Franklin citizen yet, I can’t get you set up with a library card. But you can always stay here and read whatever books you like. I’m sure they’ll get you all processed very soon, and you’ll get a library card then,” I said.
The kid looked disappointed, but let Max lead him into the library.
Logging into a computer at the front, I got to work sending a message out to Kurt, the cat breeder who lived on one of the islands where the Xarc’n warriors had made their food production facility.
Technically, we were already on a wait list for two kittens in an upcoming litter, but it never hurt to ask again.
If there was one thing I’d learned in life, it was that the squeaky wheel always got the grease first. Who would have thought cats would be in such high demand during the bugpocalypse?
Kiera stepped out of the office, a confused look on her face, and carrying her open laptop with her.
“Say, Dottie, have you seen this book? It’s the same one I was trying to digitize last week, but it’s still out.”
I didn’t need to look at her screen to know exactly which book she was talking about: Nuts, Bolts, and Caffeine: A Mechanic’s Guide to Keeping It Together.
“Kevin still has it. I called the garage two days ago, and he swore up and down that he’s going to bring it back. I think it’s time I paid him a little visit.” I slid off my chair.
“Good idea. Need to borrow Bael’k?” Kiera asked with a waggle of her brows. “He’s great at making people do things.”
I chuckled. “I’ll call if I need backup. Do you need it right away? I was thinking of taking off early.”
“I don’t leave for the Great Plains group until after lunch tomorrow. I’ll drop by in the morning. You deserve a break.”
“Thanks.”
I omitted the part where I was trying to change up my schedule to make it harder for a certain somebody to find me. Grabbing my purse, which was usually an oversized bookbag with all my things and whatever romance novel I was reading, I headed to the garage, which was several buildings over.
I decided to stop by the food hall in the community center to see what they were serving today.
I was so busy keeping my eye out for a certain purple silver fox that I didn’t realize until it was too late that I’d stepped right into trouble.
I backed away when I realized I’d almost barged into an altercation.
I recognized the troublemakers immediately.
“You took it,” Marco said, his voice stiff with anger. “I know you did.”
Several of his friends stood behind him as they cornered Evan and Kenzie, a couple who joined us last summer.
Marco immediately had beef with Evan, something about him stealing his ex-wife, but we’d been pretty clear that if they wanted to stay in the safety of New Franklin, they both had to put their differences aside.
“I didn’t take anything. You’re all jumping to conclusions.” Evan kept his palms open, his eyes darting between them as the circle tightened around him.
People nearby pretended not to watch, but everyone was listening, holding their breaths. Evan tried to edge sideways, nudging his companion to go around the men, but another accuser blocked them.
“Funny how you were the only one in the room when it went missing,” one of Marco’s cronies said, punching his fist into his hand.
“I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. Look, I know you don’t like me, but can we put this behind us? It’s been fucking years.”
“This ain’t about Serena. You stole my bag with my cell phone.”
“I ain’t do nothing like that.” Evan angled his body to protect Kenzie as he tried to get away again.
“Don’t walk away,” Marco warned. “Not until you fucking give me back my shit.”
“Fuck you. I don’t have it.”
“No, fuck you!”
And then all hell broke loose as fists and chairs went flying. Then tables were being overturned. There was a shrill scream, and I met Kenzie’s terrified gaze as she realized she was stuck between five brawling men. And now that I had a good whiff, some of them were drunk. I acted without thinking.
I jumped into the fray with the sole goal of getting the poor girl out.
And that was how I ended up hiding under a table with Kenzie, my glasses smashed against the side of my face.