Page 87 of Twilight at Croftwood Library
‘You know what Ames, you’ll be okay. Moving on seems like the hardest thing in the world but without me to remind you of the bad times, you’ll be great.’
She smiled at him through her tears. ‘I will. Seeing how happy you were when I came back, I can see how that could happen to me.’
‘It just takes time, and you have to let yourself be happy. None of it was your fault, Ames. You know that.’
She sniffed and nodded.
‘So where are you going?’
‘Mum and Dad’s. My house is rented out for another few months, so I’ll go back there and try to get a job.’
‘That’s a good plan. Come on, I’ll give you a hand with your stuff.’
They loaded her car with all her things and had another hug before he waved her off.
He went back up to the flat and poured himself a stiff whisky.
48
Lois caught the bus to Croftwood for her last day although she planned to leave as soon as she could just in case Oliver came into the library looking for her. The last time she’d seen him had felt like a goodbye, but he’d tried to call her a few times over the past couple of days – she’d rejected the calls – and she couldn’t risk seeing him. It hurt too much to even think about how wonderful it would be.
Linda was sitting behind the desk when she walked in.
‘Lois, how are you?’
‘I’m fine, thanks. You? Did you get the email from Connie?’
‘Yes.’
‘And is that okay?’
Lois had been given the okay to start back at the Hive as soon as Linda agreed to be the interim manager of Croftwood.
‘Oh, Lois. Are you sure? The place isn’t the same without you. After everything you’ve done, maybe take some time to decide. There’s no rush.’
‘Thanks, but I can’t. So, you’ll let Connie know that’s okay?’
‘If that’s what you want.’ Her eyes were full of concern. ‘If you’re sure.’
‘I am. I hope you don’t mind but I’d like to go over to the Hive today.’
‘No problem. I’m so sorry about how things have worked out. I thought he’d…that things would be different.’ She squeezed Lois’s hand.
Lois hugged her, put her keys on the counter and left before she started crying all over again.
She sat on the bus back to Worcester, surprised that she was feeling a bit better just by knowing that she didn’t have to worry about running into Oliver or Amy on a daily basis. There was always the chance that she’d see them in Worcester, but it was a lot less likely.
It felt very strange being back at the Hive. She wasn’t quite sure what to do with herself as Robert had suggested it might not be a good idea for her to be manning the information desk until she was feeling better. Andrew had been keen for her to take on some of his tasks, most of which he hated, so she had been doing quite a bit of re-shelving and organising the short loan items for the University students.
‘I hope you’re sad for a couple more weeks,’ he said to her later that day when they were both sat on the first floor sorting some medical books into piles. ‘I feel like I’m on holiday or something being able to get you to do all my jobs.’
‘Thanks. I’m glad someone’s benefiting from my mess of a life.’
‘Oh, Lois. You know I don’t mean it. I’m just doing a terrible job of trying to cheer you up. Anyway, you haven’t cried yet today. Things are looking up.’
‘I’ve just been over to Croftwood, so I suppose that’s the end of the chapter. I do feel a bit better.’
The internal phone rang. ‘Lois,’ whispered her friend, Sarah, who was manning the information desk. ‘A guy has come to the desk asking for you. I said I wasn’t sure if you were in.’ Everyone knew what had happened in Croftwood, or a version of it at least.
