Page 123 of Catch Me
“We had to use Andreas’ card for the hold,” she says almost apologetically. “But these are all about fashion in the northeast part of the U.S. during the nineteenth century. This one, in particular, focuses on the mid-nineteenth century.”
She’s even printed out a couple of articles in color so that I can see the images clearly.
“This is amazing.” I thumb through the articles and books. “I can already see how to incorporate some of these designs into the series we’re working on,” I tell Andreas as we sit at a table in one of the private rooms.
He gives me some time to read through the books and take pictures and highlight parts of the articles, while he reads another book that his bookclub has picked out for this month.
After an hour, I tell him I think I have what I need for the day. I’ll have the rest of the week to look through the books and gather more research.
“Perfect, I want to show you the view from the rooftop,” Andreas says, once I’ve packed up.
We take the glass elevator up to the rooftop level.
“Last year this branch became the most visited library in the city. Outside of the main branch, though.” He shrugs.
“But we hosted the most children’s events last year. My mom partnered with our family’s community center to increasethe number of reading events, online safety classes, and other activities for children of all ages.”
He sounds so proud as he explains the inner workings of the library and how it works to give back to the city of Williamsport.
I love his love for reading and books. Obviously, now I see, up close, where he gets it from.
“You brought a piece of your home library to L.A.,” I say about the library he has in his condo.
He tuts. “You haven’t seen anything yet. When we buy a home, it’s going to have a library double the size of what I have at the condo.”
I stop. “We?”
“What can I get for you today?” the man behind the drink stand we’ve just come to asks. The young guy’s eyes bulge when he sees us. “Andreas, how are you?”
“How’s it going, Danny?” Then Andreas looks at me. “Danny’s been working at the library since it opened almost two years ago.”
“Before that, the community center helped my family out a lot,” Danny tells me. “Don’t know where we’d be without the assistance we were given. So now, during summers, I work here for a little extra cash while in grad school.”
“That’s wonderful,” I tell him. “You must enjoy it.”
He nods. “I do. Plus, all of the free coffee I want to help me stay up late on study nights.” He shakes an empty coffee cup for emphasis. “What can I get for you?”
Andreas orders an unsweetened iced tea while I get strawberry lemonade.
“The view on this side is the best.” Andreas points toward the far corner of the library’s roof.
His excitement to show me around has made me completely overlook his comment before we ordered our drinks.
Andreas is right, though. From this angle we can see much of the city’s skyline, and in the distance a bridge that crosses over one of the rivers that runs throughout the city.
“I bet the sunset from this view is beautiful,” I say while staring off into the distance.
“We can come back tomorrow to watch it.” Andreas squeezes my hand. “I already checked. The weather’s supposed to be clear tomorrow, too.”
Later this afternoon is the party for Andreas’ mother. He took this morning to show me around the city a little before coming to the library.
He told me before that he came from a wealthy family, but it’s not until seeing up close that I’m starting to comprehend the scope of his family’s influence.
The money, however, isn’t the most impressive thing about Andreas’ family. There’s a warmth among them that I’ve never experienced with my own family. Even though I haven’t met all of Andreas’ siblings or the rest of his extended family yet, I know from the way he talks about them, that warmth extends to the rest of his family.
“What’s it like?” I turn to him and ask.
He wrinkles his forehead.
