Page 13 of Pete and His Precious

Naked Animal-Rights Woman glances up as we approach her table, and the librarian nods and says, “I see your student has hasn’t shown up yet. I’ll continue keeping an eye out for them.”

“Thank you. I think I was clear about how they could find me, but sometimes people just don’t get it.” She lifts a shoulder, and gives the librarian a sweet smile, before her eyes shift to me, and her expression changes, into one of...dislike? Guilt? Maybe embarrassment, because her cheeks get red, and if I weren’t so uncomfortable myself, feeling my face heating, like it is totally on fire, I might think that her red face is cute. Unfortunately, I’m afraid that mine matches it, and I don’t feel cute. I feel desperate.

“All right. We have several books that match your description. These right here deal with the age range you’re looking at.”

Thanks,” I say, blindly grabbing three books, pretending to peruse them before saying, “I’ll take these.” I reach for my wallet before I realize that we’re in the library, and...it’s not money, but a library card that she wants.

I do not have a library card.

“I suppose you want to get a library card today, too?” Verity says, and I wish we were having this conversation anywhere else. I guess it doesn’t matter that Naked Animal Rights Lady is right beside me, but for some reason, I want to get away from her. Actually, I know why I want to get away from her, and it can’t happen too soon.

“Yes please,” I say, feeling so very humble. It’s funny how a single trip to the library can bring a man to his metaphorical knees.

“All right then. If you’re sure those are the books you want, and you don’t want to look around a little more?” She leaves her question open ended, but I’m shaking my head no before she even stops speaking.

“No. Not at all. These are perfect. Actually, I’m sure that they’ll have everything I would ever need to know, and actually probably far more. I’ll be an expert by the time I’m done.”

I’m rambling and I close my mouth. I need to get out of here. I wish I could calm myself down, but that seems impossible, and that’s annoying, because part of my job is remaining calm in high-stakes situations. This feels like a high-stakes situation on steroids, and I am anything but calm. My heart is thundering. It must be going over two hundred beats a minute, and I feel like I am just run a marathon through the desert. Speaking of, my mouth is dry, and my lips smack and stick together every time I speak. I know my hands are trembling, and I hold the books against my stomach so they don’t tremble in the air.

I just hope my knees hold me while Verity nods, turns, and starts toward the desk.

I practically run after her. I’m like a puppy being pulled on a leash, only I want to run ahead of her. Get there first, throw the books on her desk, and take off.

But I have to live and work in this town. I will see Verity again, and I’m sure she will ask me about it. I can’t tell her thetruth, ever, and I don’t want to have that awkward conversation, so I force my feet to plant in front of the desk, and wait while it seems to take an interminable amount of time for her to get my information and get me a library card so I can get the three books I didn’t want in the first place, to read about the ten-year-old girl that I have absolutely zero interest in learning about, so I can get my butt out of the library.

Drawing lessons are not going to happen. I’ll take my chances on whatever comes out of my brush? Pen? Whatever in the world they used to draw on faces. I have no idea, and at this point I don’t care.

By the time I get out of the library, I feel like I barely escaped from the night of horrors, and I practically stumble to my truck, and drive back home to my apartment, hoping that my neighbor might be working, and I can sit, having her soothing, calm voice wash over me.

I go in, throw the books on the table, having zero intention of ever cracking one of them, and hear Trixie say, “Leo and his love bunny! Leo and his love bunny!”

“Pete. My name is Pete,” I say, exasperated at my bird, although I still like him. I’ll be sad when the ladies want him back. I probably ought to ask them what they’re thinking, because I don’t see any reason why they couldn’t watch it themselves. They’re here every day. I just walked by them, although I didn’t stop to talk.

My neighbor doesn’t seem to be around, but it doesn’t matter. I sit down in my chair, relieved I narrowly escaped with...my life? Maybe it wasn’t that dire, but it feels like it. I don’t care if I never see Naked Animal Rights Lady again.

As I sit there, I think that it’s only three days until my date with my neighbor. I’m definitely looking forward to that. No animal-rights ladies allowed.

Chapter 6

Zoe

I stand in front of the food check, and glance at my watch, 6:05. Perfect timing. That’s given him enough time to get in and to get settled. Now, it’s up to me to figure out where he is and meet him.

I have to admit, I’ve been looking forward to this. I can hear him through the wall in my apartment sometimes, but I’ve never actually seen him.

And I’m curious. Very much so.

Verity is right beside me. “Do you see him?” she asks, holding onto my arm, as though she is concerned for my safety.

She insisted that she needed to come, and I appreciate it. After I told her what was going on, she said that we couldn’t know for sure whether he was a serial killer or not, and we didn’t want to take any chances.

I suppose she could be right, but seriously, what is the percentage of serial killers in the entire world? And, with that low percentage, what are the odds that it’s going to be the one person that I finally get a date with?

Not that I’ve never had a date before, because I have, they just...never seem to go well. I’m...weird, I suppose. After all, my job isn’t exactly mainstream, and people seem a little bit put off by it.

I mention famous actors who have also stared in Hollywood animations, and that seems to bring a little bit of balance to the conversation sometimes, but the fact of the matter is, I’ve never been able to get a part like that. I do have an agent, and I actually have gone to auditions, but nothing has ever come of it. And, I live in Virginia. I don’t exactly have money to jet off to California for every audition I hear about.

“I think I see a rose,” I say, but I’m unable to see the man sitting at the table.

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