Page 35 of The Luminosity of Loriana Harper

“Yep. I devoured those books in just a couple of weeks.Harry Potterhadn’t yet been conceived. I gobbled up Tolkien, L’Engle, and Canadian classics likeAnne of Green Gables. I read voraciously, worried my parents might take the books away from me.” She snickered. “Needlessly. They found if I stayed in my room and read, then I wasn’t a nuisance. I was left in peace.”

“And that led you to wanting to be a librarian.”

“To share my love of books? Yes, absolutely. I considered teaching—Miss Edna was a great example of what a superb teacher can do—but I couldn’t see myself in a classroom all day. I liked the idea of variety. And kids are great, but I like adults just as much.” She pointed to her living room. “Why don’t we sit?”

Great idea. He snagged his mug and followed her in.

She sat on the couch and immediately curled her legs under her.

He hesitated.

She laughed. “Sorry. I’m so comfortable in my home that I’m not a good host. Feel free to sit wherever.”

Wherever consisted of choosing between a wicker chair whose cushion was covered in fur, a rocking chair, or the other end of the couch. Stealing the cat’s seat didn’t appeal. Neither did sitting at the end of the couch where they wouldn’t be facing. He opted for the traditional wood rocker and sank into the cushions.

The smile she bestowed upon him assured him that he’d made the right choice. That being said, he’d have to watch not to spill the hot liquid. He blew on the top and took a tentative sip.

Yeah, okay, hot. But also delicious. “This is really good.”

“That’s very kind of you to say. Oh, cookies.”

Before he could respond, she placed her mug on the side table, and popped up.

“Really, I’m—”

“I baked these last night. I meant to take them to work to share, but I totally forgot.” She hummed. “I made gingersnaps and ginger bread. Frosted with icing, of course.” She returned with a plate of cookies.

He snagged a cute-looking gingerbread man.

Gingerbread person?

Which made him think of the gender unicorn from his LGBTQ Positive Space Training at his old job. For all the company’s faults—and there were many—inclusivity had been a big issue. Many tech companies were composed of swathes of white men. His former company didn’t have diversity quotas per se, but they endeavored to hire a broad spectrum of people from various ethnic, religious, and gender backgrounds. He’d liked that. He hadn’t been a token—he’d been part of a large group of people who were often consideredother. Too bad that hadn’t saved him in the end.

Water under the bridge.

How often did he say that? Not often enough because the words hadn’t stuck. The betrayal ran so very deep that it felt like nothing would exorcise that pain.

“Are you okay?” Loriana’d retaken her seat with a gingersnap cookie held in her delicate fingers.

“Sorry. Momentarily caught in the past.”

“Not a pleasant place to be?”

“Uh…” He considered. “I was contemplating your gingerbread cookies. Whether they’re a man, a woman, a person, or gender-neutral.”

She grinned. “I like your thinking.”

“So then I thought about the gender unicorn we learned about at my old job.”

“Back in California?”

“Yeah.”

She cocked her head. “We did something with the positive space training as well that the government put out. The city council wasn’t pleased, but I was adamant the library staff needed to be current—or as current as we can be. Sexuality and gender can be so complicated—and people don’t often get the support they need. Kids in particular.”

This time, he cocked his head.

“There’s a young woman named Blake. When she first started coming into the library…well, I just knew. Everyone referred to her as ahe, but clearly that didn’t fit her reality. She went through a lot of grief growing up in a very repressive household.” She tapped her mug. “But a good guidance counselor intervened with her parents. Explained not just about the psychological trauma of the bullying, but laid out the statistics about trans kids. How Blake was likely to wind up homeless, abused, and more likely to commit suicide.”

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