Between the Stacks

Chapter 36

Ms. Linaberry's hair was electric blue today. She twisted one curl nervously as she sat in the chair opposite the front desk. Her toenails peeked out from her sandals; each one was painted a different color, like Skittles.

"Hello, Emma." As soon as she saw me she straightened in her chair and stopped twisting her hair, as if she didn't want me to see that she was tense. "Have any new hot seniors come in? I'm afraid I've exhausted Tinder."

"It's good to see you," I said. I sat gingerly in my own chair, feeling as if I needed to disarm a live bomb. "Have you tried the poker club? They're a little intense, although those guys are always looking for a good time."

"The poker club? Please. Been there, done that. Literally." Then the bravado faded and she gave me a watery smile. "I've missed you, Emma."

"I've missed you too," I said. With the exception of shaking hands, the library had a pretty strict no-touching-clients rule. This made sense - there were a lot of creepers out there - but I wanted nothing more than to vault over the desk and wrap Ms. Linaberry in a hug.

"I shouldn't have been so upset-" she began. I cut her off.

"You had every right to be upset. I should have verified that your story didn't end up plastered over Facebook. It was my mistake - and I'm so, so sorry." I hadn't been clear enough with Melissa about the testimonials. It was the very definition of My Fault.

Ms. Linaberry cleared her throat. "Speaking of Facebook, I saw that video that's going around. The one with that attractive young man - isn't he from Cherryhill? He's a little young for my taste. Looks yummy for you."

I instinctively cringed at the word yummy. "I think you're talking about Wesley," I said, trying to play it cool, even though I was not coming off cool at all.

"Wesley. Yes, I think that was his name. I watched his video and realized that I had stuck my head where the sun doesn't shine, if you get my drift." She huffed. "I was angry, yes, but I don't want to lose one of my favorite people."

I remembered something she wrote in her Facebook comment: When I hear my favorite librarian say my name, I think to myself, "Someone knows me."

"I'm not sure what I'd do without you," I admitted. "Who else would tell me about the steamiest romances?"

"You'd better not have another favorite client. I hope you're not cheating on me."

"Me? Never."

We grinned at each other, and I knew that I had been forgiven.

---

I hadn't realized how much the situation with Ms. Linaberry had bothered me until it was resolved. When I was at the conference I had been distracted - getting into an accident and then having A Really Great Night with Wesley would do that to a girl. But before leaving, the guilt of my mistake had weighed heavily in my stomach.

I felt lighter as I went back to the staff area and to my own desk. Things were going well. Ms. Linaberry didn't hate me, I had tasty leftovers in the fridge for my lunch, and tonight I would see Wesley-

Lakshmi burst out of her office so quickly that the door hit the wall with a solid thwack. I couldn't help but stare; she wasn't normally one for dramatics. I immediately looked away, not wanting to draw attention to myself. Her eyes looked as if she could have shot lasers out of them.

I mentally went over the past two days, wondering if I had done anything. There hadn't been any more complaints against me for communing with the devil (thankfully), and I didn't think I had poisoned anyone with the doughnuts I had brought into the office this morning.