Page 17 of The Library of Second Chances
‘Well, I won’t be staying for much longer,’ Chloe reminded her.
‘Right.’ Hannah looked crestfallen, and Chloe felt a pang of guilt.
‘I’ll just have to try them all before I go,’ she said. She rose and paid the bill, leaving a tip in the basket.
‘You’re the best, Chloe. I’ll try and swing by the library with Lily, okay?’
Hannah might have just been being polite, but Chloe said, ‘We have an event coming up for children. You can bring her along, if you like. Oh!’ She smacked her forehead. She had almost forgotten. ‘I actually could use your help with the bake sale.’ She checked her phone. ‘I’ve got to go, but remind me, okay?’
Her belly full of delicious cake and coffee, Chloe’s mood buoyed her as she headed for the school. It was one minute to one when she knocked on the headteacher’s door. The sounds of children laughing and playing echoed up and down corridors decorated with colourful drawings. It occurred to Chloe that Hannah’s daughter would probably attend this school when she was old enough.
‘Come in,’ said a woman’s voice.
The office was crowded in a cosy sort of way, one wall bright yellow, the one beside it filled with papers and notes pinned to a cork board. A Black lady wearing a bright blue blazer looked up from her desk, a smile spreading on her face, which was kind-looking and put Chloe at ease.
Chloe introduced herself. ‘I’m here on behalf of the Wellbridge Library. I was hoping we could discuss an event of some kind. I believe you talked to Alice Cook on the phone?’
‘Yes! I’m Mandy Jordan. It’s so nice to meet you, Chloe. Would you sit down?’
Soon they were eagerly swapping ideas for an upcoming event, including arts and crafts and book readings. ‘I was thinking a bake sale too, if we can,’ Chloe said, thinking of Hannah’s cakes and making a mental note to text her the details later. ‘I might be able to get a local place to help with that. We’rethinking of doing a bunch of activities, and maybe a reading. We could get library cards for all the children who don’t have one yet, maybe get them to decorate them themselves.’
‘World Book Day isn’t until March, but I’d love to have something like this before Christmas.’ Miss Jordan tapped her chin in thought. ‘I’ll admit, even I haven’t visited the library in a while.’
Chloe thought it would be difficult to organise, but she left the office with promises of settling on a concrete date soon, once letters went out to parents and a suitable day could be decided. Chloe was in a great mood when she stepped out of the school. A cold breeze washed over her, carrying the earthy, sweet scent of autumn leaves. Winter wasn’t far off.
She’d buy herself another latte and have a walk before taking the good news to Mrs Cook.
‘Back so soon?’ Hannah joked when Chloe walked in. ‘Can’t get enough of me?’
‘I just couldn’t help myself.’ Chloe smiled at her. ‘I need to talk to you about the bake sale I mentioned. Do you have a minute?’
Hannah was delighted that they wanted to hire the café for their bake sale. ‘I’ll have to talk to the manager about the finances of it, since we’re hoping the proceeds can go towards the library,’ said Chloe. Maybe they could buy some of the cakes in bulk.
‘I’ll talk to my uncle, too. He’s working tomorrow.’ Hannah was practically bouncing around. ‘This is amazing, Chloe. Thank you so much. You’ve no idea how much this will help us.’
‘Er – help?’
‘Well, the café isn’t making a huge profit.’ Hannah had lowered her voice, and Chloe found herself conspiratorially leaning in. ‘You know, people tend to prefer the big chains.’ Sheswallowed, her friendly expression gone. ‘Sorry, Chloe. It’s not your problem.’
‘Don’t worry about it.’ Chloe mimed zipping up her mouth and smiled. ‘The library will benefit from this event too, I’m sure.’
She got a cinnamon latte to go. It felt fitting for this cold late autumn day. She waved goodbye to Hannah, hoping that this event would indeed do something to help the café as well, if it was struggling that much. It was such a lovely little place, and it matched the small town much better than a big chain coffee shop you could find anywhere. Sipping the hot drink, Chloe wandered around town. It wasn’t a big town, and she mostly passed shoppers and dogwalkers. Some of them smiled or said hello as she wandered past. She wasn’t used to it, but she found herself smiling and nodding back.
She could go home after the meeting with the headteacher, so Chloe took her time. She was about to turn towards home when she spotted the street that led to the local chapel. Chloe had almost forgotten it was here: the little stone building with its majestic steeple and brick walls, although now it seemed to have been lost to time, the garden overgrown. Though she hadn’t been inside for years, she knew the polished wooden benches and stained-glass windows lent the interior a romantic look.
It hit her in the chest like a punch.
The memories. The nostalgia. The heartbreak.
This was the place where she and Liam were supposed to get married. Eight years ago, they had visited this chapel, admired the interior artwork, planned where the flowers would go, where the guests would sit. They had talked about their hopes and their plans for the future. They had wanted three kids. To buy a house near a lake somewhere. Have one room as Chloe’s personal reading space, filled floor to ceiling with books. That was allbefore it had come crashing down, leaving her heartbroken and alone.
She turned from the chapel grounds, tears welling up so suddenly she could barely keep them down. She pressed her lips tightly together, hoping no one would see her as a ragged gasp burst from her. She turned a corner and leaned against the cold brick of a wall, sighing as tears slipped down her cheeks. The memories assaulted her without warning.
The dress she had abandoned in a closet.
The tear-filled phone call.
Mum helping her to cancel the wedding invitations.
