Page 33 of Twilight at Croftwood Library
Lois almost staggered with the impact of realising that Oliver was about to be in a full-on relationship with Amy again. They weren’t taking it slow, they were picking up almost exactly where they’d left off.
‘Oh, great, well I’d better let you go then.’
Oliver opened the door, then turned and took a long look at Lois. There was something in his eyes, maybe regret, maybe he just felt sorry for hurting her, but Lois thought he was feeling the loss just as much as she was.
‘Bye.’
Gulping down a sob, she walked into the kitchen and took a long sip of wine. She should have expected something like this. He had said it was complicated all along and she had heard him but she had carried on, letting her feelings run away with her regardless. She had thought it would all work out. Now she was going to have to try and be friends. It sounded easy enough but it wouldn’t be, especially not with Amy at his side.
19
Lois felt sluggish the next morning. She’d drunk too much wine and her eyes still felt puffy from crying so she’d had to put extra make-up on in a vain attempt to make herself look semi-normal.
‘Morning, Lois. Where’s your bike today?’ asked Linda as soon as she walked in.
The bike ride would have made her feel better, and blown the cobwebs away, but she felt so drained that she couldn’t face the thought of it. ‘I got the bus this morning. How are you, Linda?’
‘Good, thank you. I’ve just had a look at the book club cards for this month and we’ve already got double the number of people that we had last month and that’s not even including the mobile library and there’s still a week left until the meeting.’
‘That’s great news. Hopefully, we’ll find out from Steph later how the initiative’s working out on the road. I’m not sure it’ll necessarily help our cause but it’s important to get people involved even if they can’t come and visit us.’
‘Oh, definitely Lois. Anyway, I’ll get on with the re-shelving until Rosemary comes in.’
Lois hadn’t seen Rosemary since the kiss she’d interrupted and as far as she knew, Oliver hadn’t spoken to her yet. Having been on the wrong side of Rosemary before, Lois was slightly nervous about how it would be when she came in. She hoped Rosemary would be able to remain professional. They’d made such progress since Lois had started at Croftwood that it would be a shame to take a backward step.
When Rosemary arrived, she was carrying a takeout coffee from Oliver’s. He’d have known she was on her way to the library so perhaps he had managed to talk to her first. From her expression, there was no way to tell.
‘Morning Rosemary.’
‘Good morning, Lois. What time are we expecting Stephanie?’
‘I think she’s coming in around midday so we can meet during her lunch break.’
‘Wonderful. I shall spend the morning changing some of the displays. Have you read any books we can have a review of Lois? We could do with refreshing them.’
‘Oh, yes. The new Marian Keyes book?’
‘Are you asking me or telling me.’ Rosemary glared at Lois and now she was sure that Oliver had not had a chance to speak to her.
‘I’ll write it for you now,’ said Lois and retreated to her spot behind the desk. Perhaps she should make it clear to Rosemary that Oliver and Amy were back together and that she was no longer in the picture but that was their business. It was up to Amy and Oliver to tell people if they were back together and Rosemary would find out soon enough. Lois just had to bear the cold shoulder for a little while longer.
The rest of the morning flew by with no more stand-offs and Lois was only slightly nervous about how their meeting with Steph was going to go.
‘Lois!’ Steph called from the door. ‘Give us a hand!’
Outside, Steph was hauling a couple of boxes out of the mobile library van.
‘I’ve bought some books over from the Hive for you, courtesy of Andrew.’
‘Brilliant, thanks,’ said Lois, peering in the first box and finding a treasure trove of YA books. ‘This is perfect.’
‘You’re welcome. Are you putting the kettle on?’
‘Yes, give me a chance,’ laughed Lois. They took the boxes of books inside and left them in Lois’s office where she made everyone a cup of tea.
‘I haven’t seen you for ages,’ said Steph, perched on the edge of the desk.
‘That’s because you’ve been all loved up with your man.’
