Page 30 of Twilight at Croftwood Library
‘It’s nowhere near the same,’ Lois said, shaking her head. ‘I’ve realised that Alex did me a favour. And not just because of this,’ she said waving her fork between the two of them. She laughed as Oliver raised his eyebrows suggestively. ‘We weren’t happy and I don’t know how long he’d known that but it took me too long to notice.’
‘All’s well that ends well, then. To new beginnings.’ He raised his glass to Lois and she did the same.
‘To us.’
17
Robert had asked Lois to pop in to see him at the Hive so that he could catch up on how things were going in Croftwood. He was going to an important County Libraries meeting where Lois hoped he would pass on how well the improvements were going.
‘Lois, lovely to see you,’ he said as she made her way into his office.
‘Hi, Robert. It’s nice to be back, briefly.’ She picked up a couple of books which had been left on the chair and added them to the nearest pile before she sat down.
‘I hear from Andrew that you have built quite a Twitter presence for Croftwood Library. Wonderful, Lois.’ He turned to his computer screen. ‘And I’ve been having a look at the borrowing rates since you took over and I know that you’ve got lots of initiatives going on but you know how it is Lois, that’s the only statistic we have that indicates actual footfall.’
Lois had been checking the rates herself every week and they had been creeping up week on week which she was very proud of but she was interested to know what Robert would conclude.
He peered at the screen. ‘Thirty-one per cent, Lois. It’s a very nice uplift but possibly not spectacular enough to cause a change of heart over the closure at the moment, sadly.’
‘Well, no but it’s only been a few weeks and new members are joining all the time. I’m sure that will improve quite quickly.’ She tried to sound upbeat.
‘I’m quite sure you’re right but as you know, time is short.’
‘They’re not deciding now though, are they? How much time do we have, Robert?’
‘The final decision will be made on 23rd January. That’s…another ten weeks or so,’ he said, consulting his wall planner.
‘What kind of rate do you think would make the difference?’ asked Lois.
‘It’s going to be a tall order, Lois. I would say it needs to be comfortably seventy per cent.’
‘Seventy?!’ That was insane. Completely impossible.
‘When you think about it in terms of numbers rather than per cent, it is achievable. The actual number of books borrowed at Croftwood was so low, it’s eminently possible.’ He took his glasses off and fiddled with the arms as he carried on. ‘I can see you’ve taken to the place but it would be a miracle for it to be saved now, Lois. I know I’ve just said the decision won’t be made until January but we both know it’s been made already.’ He gave her a sympathetic look.
‘It’s such a fantastic place, Robert. It’s an amazing little time warp that we’re dragging into the twenty-first century but it’s not kicking and screaming, it’s flourishing and people are starting to see that. I mean, the book club has really caught people’s imaginations. I’d love you to tell them about that at the meeting.’
‘Ah, yes, the book club. The dating book club,’ he said, smiling and raising his eyebrows. ‘That certainly has got people talking and I will make sure the powers that be hear about it.’
‘Thanks, Robert.’
‘And I know you’re putting your all into this, Lois. It’s wonderful to see you flourishing as well.’
Lois walked down the staircase in a slight daze. She probably should have had this talk with Robert before she took over at Croftwood. But it hadn’t mattered as much in the beginning as it did now. Everything he’d said suggested that at best they had ten weeks to prove that Croftwood Library was a valuable member of the county’s libraries and at worst, there was nothing they could do. But Lois knew in her heart that they were already making the difference and she was going to carry on. She was not going to sit back and do nothing for the next ten weeks because that would be a travesty and it felt like working at Croftwood Library had given her everything that had been missing from her life.
Andrew was at the desk when she got to the ground floor.
‘Hey, Lois! Nice to see you back in the Hive. How’s it going out in the sticks?’
She managed a smile. ‘It’s really good. Much better than I expected. Totally different to here.’
‘But you miss us.’
‘Of course I do!’ said Lois giving him a playful shove.
‘And how’s life without Alex?’
Lois forgot that he’d have found out from Steph. ‘It’s okay. I’ve started seeing someone else.’
