Page 88 of Twilight at Croftwood Library
‘Hang on a sec.’ Lois put the receiver down on the desk and went over to the balustrade where she would be able to look down at the ground floor. The man who was standing at the desk had brown hair and it was very nicely quiffed. It was Oliver.
She ran back to the desk. ‘Sorry Sarah, can you tell him I’m not here, please?’
‘No problem, leave it to me.’
Lois put the phone down and rushed back over to the balustrade. She could see Sarah talking to Oliver and he was nodding. Then he asked her something else and she shook her head. He tilted his head back as if he was sighing and Lois thought for a moment that he might see her, so she ducked down for a second. Then she saw him say something else to Sarah and walk out. Lois wove her way through the stacks to the windows on the other side of the library where she knew he would be walking. The need she had to see him was overwhelming. What did he want? He probably just wanted to make sure she was okay. He certainly looked like he was doing better than she was. He looked back to his normal self. Things must be better between him and Amy.
She watched him until he was out of sight then went back to the desk and carried on with her sorting.
‘He’s here looking for you?’ asked Andrew.
Lois nodded. She didn’t want to talk about it. She had to get used to him not being part of her life and endlessly talking about the whole sad episode was not going to help.
‘Gosh, he’s persistent. Are you sure it’s over?’
‘Absolutely certain.’
That evening, Lois pulled out the blouse she had started making before Christmas. Now seemed like as good a time as any to restart her hobby. After all, that’s what she’d started it for in the first place; to take her mind off Alex rather than Oliver. It would hopefully work for either.
The sewing machine was whirring away when she stopped, thinking she’d heard something. The doorbell rang. Then someone started knocking.
‘Lois, it’s Oliver!’ She could just about hear him.
She started sewing again, trying to take as long as possible over the seam she was finishing so that he would have given up by the time she got to the end. Also, if he heard the machine, he would know she was sewing and may not have heard the door, which was somehow better than if he thought she was just ignoring him.
Her phone started ringing. God, Andrew was right. He was extremely persistent. She turned it off and carried on with another seam. By the time she’d finished that one, she was fairly sure he’d gone.
She sat in the lounge unpicking the terrible job she’d done of her side seams while her heart had been beating ten to the dozen, when Steph rang.
‘Hey, how are you doing?’
Lois was starting to get annoyed at the sympathetic tone everyone was using when they spoke to her.
‘Fine thanks. You?’
‘Yeah, great. Eunice and Bill were on the van today. Oh my goodness, they are revelling in their newfound love, and I think Eunice is secretly thrilled that she’s dating a film star.’
Lois smiled. ‘That’s lovely, isn’t it? Are they going to the next book club?’
‘Yes, I think Dottie’s driving them. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re at all of them from now on. How about you? Will you be braving it?’
The book club was one of the hardest things about the whole situation. ‘No, I don’t think so. I don’t want to see Oliver or Amy. I think it’s better to stay away. You know he came to The Hive looking for me today?’
‘I know, Andrew told me.’
That’s why she had phoned. The calls between them were much less frequent now that she was with Tom, but it didn’t matter to Lois, she understood and she was glad for Steph because Tom was perfect for her.
‘And he came round here about half an hour ago. God, I just need to be away from him. I mean, I don’t want to be, but I have to for my own sanity. Even seeing him today. It’s wonderful but terrible at the same time.’
‘Look. Why don’t you crash at mine for a few nights? I’m mostly at Tom’s anyway. Think of it like a holiday. No-one will know where you are, you’ll have complete peace.’
Lois didn’t need to think about it. Steph lived in a flat overlooking the river at Diglis. It had a little balcony, and she would be very happy whiling away the hours between her shifts at The Hive watching the boats turning in the basin.
‘That’d be brilliant, thanks Steph.’
‘No problem. Pack your bags and I’ll drop the keys into you at work tomorrow.’
Yes. It was the perfect solution to give her a bit of space until Oliver realised he ought to leave her alone.
