Page 212 of As They Are
She gently guided my head to a newly installed sign. It was in warm wood tones, similar to the one in front of the town. Underneath it was a garden of all different kinds of flowers. At first, I thought it was a cute way to show off the library, but then I read it.
“Mollie, what the?—”
She bounced on her feet. “Surprise! I’ve been holding this in forweeks!I can’t believe I made it!”
I turned back to the sign, tears springing into my eyes.
It didn’t have much on it. Just the newly minted name of the building.
Wren Hackett Library.
“How did you two do this?” I managed.
“It wasn’t all us,” Henry said with a smile.
“There’s technically a party tomorrow, but I figured you’d start crying.” Mollie laughed as I wiped a tear. “And you’d want to spend tomorrow being happy.”
“Still.How?”
“After your mom came, the whole town wanted you to know you’re a part of things here. What better way than to name the library you fought for?”
“I—you could have gotten me a thank-you card.”
Henry’s lips pressed to my cheek. “We’re a fan of bigger gestures here.”
They were. I’d never been welcomed somewhere faster. After I returned, most people made sure to say hello to me every single morning or ask me how I was doing. There was no talk about the show or about my mom or Jude.
Only me.
“Guys,” I said, “how am I supposed to work now? I’m gonna keep looking over here!”
“Should we have saved it for tomorrow?” Mollie asked.
I wiped at my eyes. “No.”
“We’ll still need to cover it,” Henry reminded. “No one else knows we did this. You’ll have to act surprised.”
“Oh, great. Put my acting skills to the test.” I would still be surprised every single day. Probably all of the days. “But thank you. This is ... this is more than a thank you can even cover.”
Mollie pulled me into a tight hug. “You deserve it.”
When she pulled away, Henry checked his watch. “We should get this covered up. It’s our usual diner time. Wanna join?”
“Unfortunately, I can’t.” She let out a sigh. “Doctor’s appointment. Cain won’t let me miss it.”
“Didn’t you just go?” I asked.
“I’m now on an every-other-week basis. The last trimestersucks.”
“Good luck,” I said. “Tell Cain to chill.”
She rolled her eyes. “He won’t. He’s such a panicked dad, but I can’t fault him for it. He didn’t get to see all of this with Eric.”
“He better calm down for the next one,” I said.
“I’ll make him if he doesn’t.” She gave me a final hug before making her way to her car. “Have a nice breakfast!”
After Mollie was gone, we walked over to Center Point. This was our usual schedule, and my stomach rumbled already. Henry and I had worked out how to make a routine that worked for us both, and now I was so used to it that I didn’t want to deviate, even if it was a special morning for multiple reasons.
