Page 16 of An Enchanted Moment on Ever After Street
‘People are allowed to like different things.’
‘Apart from gardening, it doesn’t seem like youlikeanything at all.’
‘I don’t.’
Is he for real? Everyone likessomething. Don’t they? ‘I like to think I can spot bookish people from a mile away. You seem like someone who’d be well read.’
No response. I don’t think I’ve ever been more disappointed in my life. Not liking books is a deal-breaker for me in any friendship or relationship… not that this is either, but still. Most women probably dream of getting into bed with a gorgeous man and having hot sex – I dream of getting into bed with a gorgeous man and reading our respective novels, and then putting them on our bedside tables, turning out the light, and snuggling down for the night.
It’s like when the Beast shows Belle his library. Talk about every girl’s dream. When they sang ‘Something There’, the thing that hadn’t been there before was clearly the revelation that the Beast loves to read. I could never understand why Belle wanted to leave the Beast’s castle after that. A bookish friend who was nowhere near as beastly as he first seemed, a huge library, and sentient homeware to tend your every whim – sounds like heaven to me.
And Darcy, who is literally named after a book, and who seems kind, empathic, and intelligent, when it’s well-known that these are qualities found in readers… it doesn’t add up that he doesn’t like books.
‘I used to.’ His voice has an air of surprise to it, like he’s as surprised as I am by what he’s saying. ‘But not any more. I fell out of love with reading.’
I let out an actual sigh of relief. Nowthatmakes so much more sense. ‘Everyone hits a reading slump once in a while.’
‘That implies someone’s got a bit disillusioned after reading a couple of mediocre books. It’s more than that with me. I lost any joy I once found within the pages of books. It’s not something I’ll ever get back again.’
‘That’s impossibly sad.’ I chew on my lip. ‘Do you know why?’
‘Yes.’
I wait for him to elaborate even though I already know that was a one-word answer and I won’t be getting anything else out of him.
‘Okay, hold that thought, I have a solution to that problem.’ I down the rest of my tea and jump to my feet.
‘It isn’t aproblem,’ he calls after me as I rush back inside.
I run to the fantasy section and grab a copy ofOnce Upon Another Time– a book I recommend toeveryonewho’s struggling in any way. This book is the solution toeveryproblem.
‘This is my favourite book in the world,’ I say as I put the book down on the gatepost and walk back up the garden and sit down, once again listening to the suppressed grumbles as he hauls himself to his feet. ‘It’s life-affirming. It’s literary-fiction-meets-fantasy about this woman who’s feeling lost in life. She’s stuck in a dead-end job, her family are disappointed that she hasn’t settled down and had children, her friendship group is growing apart as her old friends are busy with their partners and families. Everything’s dull and lacking excitement, and she doesn’t know where to go in life. And then, one evening, she’s browsing in a bookshop and she falls down the ladder into the children’s section, like falling down the rabbit holeinto Wonderland. The ladder breaks so she can’t get out, and the owner closes up and leaves without hearing her shout, so she’s stuck in the children’s section of the bookshop overnight. With nothing else to do, she pulls out some of her childhood favourites and rereads them, and she reconnects with characters she loved as a child. You know when you’re little and you get so consumed by a book that it seems like the characters are right there in the room with you? It’s like she meets old friends who she’d forgotten, and who all meant something to her when she was young, and over the course of the night, she goes on all these magical adventures with Alice, and Darrell Rivers, and Peter Pan, and Anne Shirley, and Jo, Bessie, and Fanny, and the Pevensie children, and it reminds her of who she used to be and what she wanted, and how she’s let life drag her along rather than taking control of her own destiny and doing what she wants rather than what other people think she should do. She learns that it’s okay to do things that bring you joy, and to ignore other people’s expectations and put yourself first in your own life.’
He’s quiet. Maybe he’s reading the blurb and appreciating the gesture, and I make myself stop talking because I could talk aboutOnce Upon Another Timeuntil the cows come home, have their supper, and pop off back out again.
‘Are you kidding me?’ There’s the slam of a book shutting and a whoosh, and the book comes sailing over the hedge above me and lands limply in a bramble bush.
‘Oi! That’s my stock!’ I scramble to my feet and retrieve the precious book, smooth it down, and hold it to my chest protectively. ‘Don’t throw my books around! What iswrongwith you?’
‘What is wrong withyou? Why the hell would you give me that pile of… crap?’ He settles on a word eventually, sounding like he’s being reluctantly polite.
‘It’s the best book ever written!’
He tuts. ‘I thought you had better taste than that.’
‘Areyoukiddingme?’ I repeat his own question. ‘What’s wrong withOnce Upon Another Time? It’s a really special book.’
‘Yeah, if you’re a duck!’
‘A duck?’ I pull a confused face at the hedge. ‘What have ducks got to do with anything?’
‘It was a figure of speech. I meant you’d have to be illiterate to enjoy it. It belongs on a bonfire… Actually, give it back, I’ll start a bonfire especially for it.’
‘Don’t you dare say that about my favourite book!’ I didn’t realise I was so protective of it, but I’m moments away from stalking round there and beating him over the head with this hefty hardback. ‘It’s life-affirming and positive. Have you read it?’
‘No.’ He sounds like he’s sulking.
‘You can’t possibly judge it if you haven’t read it.’ I don’t know how long I’ve been staring at the hedge with my mouth hanging open in shock, but I snap it closed when my jaw starts to ache. ‘For someone who has said multiple times that people are allowed to like different things, you’re being very judgemental.’
