Page 69 of Roommate's Guide to Love

Quinn: You’re right. Just pick out a good outfit for her. First impressions last a lifetime.

Porter: I mean…she’s wearing this?

Porter proceeds me to send me a picture that immediately makes me smile.

And makes my heart, and other body parts, clench.

Grace and Porter are standing in front of a mirror in his hallway. She’s looking up at him like she’s very confused—which I’ve learned is her normal resting face and it’s cute as hell—as he’s looking down at her through the mirror to try and get her to look at her reflection. She has on a little pink T-shirt with the cutest jean overalls. And of course, a matching, and insanely large bow, on the top of her head.

While that would be cute enough in its own right, it’s the smile on Porter’s face that’s grabbing my attention. I think it’s the first real, and not scared, smile, he’s had since Grace showed up in his office. The man has been stressing and worrying, and honestly, I don’t blame him. So seeing him smile? Seeing him relax a little? It’s a good look on him.

Really good…

Quinn: Did anyone ever tell you that you could be a baby fashion stylist?

Porter: Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I just guessed.

Quinn: You did good. I’ll see you soon.

I put away my phone, put in a few orders and make a few drinks, and when I finally get back around to checking on my favorite ornery duo at the bar, they’ve picked up a guest.

And not just any guest. The woman who changed my life with a side-swept, short hair-do I’ll never forget as long as I live.

“Mrs. Metcalf? What are you doing here?” I sprint around the bar and nearly tackle my former middle school librarian. “Oh my God, it’s so good to see you.”

“Now, now, Quinn, you don’t need to be squeezing me, I’m not going anywhere,” she says with her light tone. “But it’s good to see you, my dear.”

I don’t know if this woman truly understands how much she meant to me when I was growing up. After I discovered my love of reading, I was a permanent fixture in her library. At first she thought I was pulling pranks in there—and given my track record, I don’t blame her for that. But soon we started talking. She was the first adult, maybe besides my parents, who I felt like was actually listening to me and not just thinking of me as Simon or Maeve’s sister. Or the girl who brought Crisco to school and greased all the doorknobs. We talked about books and life, and I’d tell her the drama going through Rolling Hills Middle School. While every other kid could only check out one book at a time, I was allowed five. She’d show me pictures of her cat, and I told her about how one day I’d have one of my own and I’d name it Turtle.

Oh, I can’t wait to tell her about real life Turtle!

Some days when I was having a bad day, or I just needed a break, I’d just go into the library to sit with her and read. She never asked questions. She never sent me back to class. She just knew I needed it.

She’s an angel. A saint. And I know for a fact that she changed my life.

“What are you doing? Are you still at the school? And wait—” I trail off as I realize she’s choosing to sit next to George and Harry. No one chooses to sit next to George and Harry. “What are you doing sitting next to these fools?”

“Hey!” George yells in protest. “This is my lady.”

If I had a drink, I’d spit it out. “You? And Mrs. Metcalf?”

“Quinn, my dear, it’s been more than twenty years since you’ve sat in my library. You can call me Shirley.”

I vehemently shake my head. “Absolutely not.”

“Well, you could call her Mrs. Baskins if she’d ever say yes to my proposal.”

“Mrs. Metcalf! Are you keeping this man dangling on the hook?”

She gives me a wink. “He knew when he first asked me out that I wasn’t interested in getting married again. But the man is stubborn and just keeps asking.”

George shakes his head. “I’m wearing her down.”

I let out a laugh. “Sure you are, George. Sure you are.”

Mrs. Metcalf and I keep chatting as I pour her a glass of Pinot Grigio. Turns out she’s still at the school library—when school lets out in a few weeks it’ll conclude her forty-second year of teaching. That doesn’t shock me. I always thought she’d die in that library. But whatdoesshock me is that she and George have been dating for five years now.

“I didn’t think I’d date after my husband passed away,” she says.

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