Epilogue
Two years later
‘A RE YOU SURE you’re going to be okay, Gwen?’
Despite their long conversations, all the house viewings, the paperwork, and the moving truck being parked outside the house for the last two days, Chloe felt suddenly unsure.
‘Chloe, I’m a big girl now. I can surely live by myself.’
Joe had hugged Gwen, tears in his eyes as he’d said goodbye to her, despite her only moving a couple of miles away. It had made it really sink in that Gwen was leaving.
The one-bedroom terraced house stood gleaming in the summer sunshine. Gwen had her blonde hair in a ponytail, her hands on her hips. Chloe never would have thought she’d see her baby sister wearing jeans, of all things. They suited her.
‘That’s the last of the stuff,’ said Harry, coming outside and looking delicious with his shirtsleeves rolled up to the elbows. ‘I put the box at the top of the stairs. Hello, love.’ He kissed Chloe on the cheek. ‘Did you come to see Gwen off?’
‘I had to see this place for myself, since you’ve been so secretive about it,’ said Chloe, elbowing her sister. ‘It’s nice. Got a little garden and everything.’ She nodded around the small grassy space before the front door.
Harry slid his arm around his fiancée’s waist as Gwen stepped into her new home. ‘Are you sad she’s leaving?’ he asked Chloe quietly.
‘I’m sure you’ll make a less messy housemate.’ Chloe kissed Harry on the lips.
‘I heard that,’ Gwen yelled over her shoulder.
Despite being happy that Gwen was moving into her own place, Chloe did feel a pang of sadness.
These past two years had been full of late-night movie watching, trips to the library and bookshops, and hours of cooking together.
Some of their dishes had even turned out pretty well.
Anything tasted good after the Brown Slop of Doom.
‘We’re having a summer event at the library, then it’s Eric’s send-off party tonight,’ Chloe reminded her when they had stepped inside, the cool interior a pleasant relief from the summer heat. The open-plan kitchen and dining room was so quaint, so girly and so Gwen. ‘Are you coming?’
Gwen straightened from unpacking a brand-new box of plates and bowls. ‘Of course. I wouldn’t miss it.’
‘Mrs Cook will be there, too. She and Joe don’t go on their cruise until next week.’
Things had been quiet since the elderly woman had retired from the library, putting Chloe in charge in her place.
The responsibilities were greater, but for nearly two years now, Chloe had found the library a sanctuary, from its gothic windows to its cosy armchairs to its shadowy corners full of secrets.
She still took out characters from glowing books from time to time, the library always seeming to know who was best for her to talk to or learn from.
Since that day Harry and Chloe had announced their relationship, there had never been another incident of the characters coming out on their own.
The six of them, including Hannah, had promised to keep the magic of the library a secret – a secret only those who loved books enough to work there were privy to.
In return, Chloe hosted more events in the library.
People came in daily now, and with every visitor and borrowed book, the library became happier.
Perhaps it was because she was the manager now, but Chloe swore she could sometimes feel the library’s emotions.
Hannah brought Lily in almost every afternoon, and Chloe was becoming very fond of the little girl.
Sometimes, in the dark corners of the library’s spaces, she thought she spotted the spark of a cigarette or the forked tail of a dragon, but then she would chase it and find there was nothing there.
Maybe the characters could come and go as they pleased, now.
And that was okay with her, so long as they didn’t all jump out at once or run amok around Wellbridge.
‘I’ll miss you.’ Gwen hugged her close as Chloe laughed.
‘We’re still in the same town,’ she reminded her. ‘And we’ll meet up all the time.’
‘Still.’ Gwen straightened and beamed at Harry. ‘You look after my big sister, you hear? No leaving dirty dishes in the sink or spilling wine over people’s books. That’s my job.’
Harry and Chloe stepped outside, leaving Gwen in her new home. Chloe actually felt a flicker of sadness that her sister wouldn’t be waiting for her at home any more. But Harry would be moving in with her next month. A big move, one that they had both agreed they were ready for.
‘Would you like to have dinner with my parents tomorrow night?’ Harry suggested when they climbed into his car. ‘I can drive us to Newcastle in the morning.’
Chloe smiled. ‘That sounds lovely.’
She had been so nervous the first time she’d met them, but Mr and Mrs Ashcroft had welcomed Chloe warmly into their home. When Harry had proposed, producing a ring one late evening in the library lobby when they were alone together, his mum and dad had been thrilled.
‘Welcome to the family, Chloe.’ Harry’s mum had kissed her cheek and held her so close it’d brought tears to Chloe’s eyes.
As they drove home, Chloe twisted her engagement ring on her finger as she marvelled at how much she had fallen back in love with Wellbridge.
Everywhere she looked, the good memories outweighed the bad, and now she honestly couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.
Her childhood home had become a loving house where she was to make new memories with Harry.
The sadness and loneliness she had experienced as a young woman here, now felt like a different lifetime.
An old chapter long forgotten. She had learnt a lot about love, friendship, family and forgiveness.
Even now, the library of second chances taught her something new every day, and the most important lesson of them all was how to love again.
The End