Page 77 of The Library of Second Chances
‘May I?’ Chloe asked, reaching for the book. She flipped to the end, but it was as Eric had said. At the sight of the book, the giant cat screamed, climbing further up the chapel roof. He clamped his hands over his ears and yelled and sang so loudly they feared all of Wellbridge would hear.
‘This isn’t going to work,’ said Chloe with a groan. She quickly read the character’s last line in silence, committing it to memory. She was going to need both hands for this. She glanced around the chapel building. There didn’t seem to be anywhere they could climb. No ladder or anything.
‘What about Gwen?’ Harry asked suddenly.
‘What about her?’ Chloe asked with some irritation. ‘She can’t climb, either.’
‘No, no.’ Harry sounded amused. ‘I mean the superhero in the pub. If she tells him there’s a cat stuck on a roof—’
‘He’ll come and save him,’ Chloe finished his sentence, and a smile grew on her face. ‘That just might work.’
‘Superhero?’ Mrs Cook asked. Harry explained while Chloe pulled out her phone. She texted Gwen, but she wasn’t seeing the message.
The cat on the roof started singing, his voice so shrill that he’d surely attract people at any moment.
‘On the roof, I sit so high,
Watching the humans shout, oh my!
They try to climb, they try to leap,
But catching this cat is no small feat!’
If anyone came running and saw him, she didn’t know how they could explain it. Chloe quickly called Gwen, hoping her sister would hear her phone ring in the noisy pub.
‘Chloe?’ Gwen answered. The background noise was people laughing and the buzz of theTV.
‘Hi, Gwen. Are you still with him?’
‘Well, yes. I’m sitting with him, but those girls are here, too.’ Chloe heard her sniff in annoyance. ‘They seem to think I’m, um . . .’ she whispered, ‘trying to steal him.’
‘Wave goodbye and tip your hat,
There’s no way you’ll catch this cat!’
Chloe covered her free ear, thoroughly annoyed now. ‘Steal him from whom? Look, you need to get him over here,’ she said. ‘We’ve got a character stuck on the chapel roof and only he can get him. Can you tell him it’s an emergency?’
‘You’re fromwhere?’ asked a woman in the background, unnaturally loud and with her words slurring. ‘That isn’t a real city.’ Giggling erupted from behind Gwen.
‘Gwen, this is your time to shine,’ said Chloe fiercely. ‘We’re at the chapel. The one where . . . you know, on Baker Street. Tell him someone needs his help – right now!’
‘Okay. Yes. I can do this.’ An uncomfortable silence rang between them, broken by the sound of shattering glass. Gwen cursed. ‘I’ll get him there as quickly as I can.’
The phone cut off, and Chloe glanced upwards again. She could see the tip of the naughty cat’s hat. Clearly, he was having a good time basking in his mischief and singing with his terrible voice. Unsure whether Gwen would be able to deliver on her promise, Chloe glanced inside the chapel. The door was open but there was nobody there. Loud thumps on the roof told them the cat was on the move.
‘Hurry up, Gwen,’ Chloe murmured. The inside of the chapel was cobwebby and old. Did anyone even still use it any more, or had it been abandoned to the elements? Wooden benches stood in rows, an aisle leading to a dais. Did it used to get decorated with flowers? Did they hold funerals here once, or celebrate christenings and weddings? It was deserted now.
Harry had followed her inside, his presence like a warm blanket. Chloe glanced around sadly, the memories coming back: discussing colours and flowers with the wedding planner, imagining herself walking down the aisle, picking out the perfect dress. The many awkward phone calls to tell people the wedding was off. The nights of crying herself to sleep, the bitterness when Gwen discarded Liam almost at once, jetting off with her millionaire without a word of apology.
Harry’s arms wrapped around her from behind, his chin resting on her shoulder. ‘Are you all right?’
There was so much promise in that simple question. ‘Yeah. Just, you know, memories. I was supposed to marry Liam here.’ She turned to face him. She was painfully aware of the ticking clock, that they still had more characters to find, but with thesun shining through the stained-glass windows, the soft sound of tweeting birds outside and Harry’s arms around her waist, it was easy to not care. Just for a moment. ‘I want to make new memories here in Wellbridge. With you.’
The words left her mouth of their own accord, but she knew them to be true. Wellbridge felt more like home than the city ever did. ‘I love my job. Even with days like these.’
‘You don’t get much of that in an office.’ Harry’s brown eyes crinkled as they roamed her face, making her feel like he had peeled back her cover and was reading her every thought. She stood on her tiptoes to kiss him.
It felt right. Like home.
