Page 10 of The Secret Librarian
‘I’m counting on it,’ he said. ‘I’ll have a car collect you from your home on Monday. Training will be in Washington, DC, and once you’ve received your posting you’ll have the chance to return home before flying out to wherever you’re posted. I look forward to seeing you again next week.’
She gulped. ‘Flyingout?’ Avery hadn’t ever even imagined getting on a plane before.
‘It’ll be the experience of a lifetime, trust me.’ He chuckled. ‘Pan American will look after you, I promise. Do you have a passport?’
‘No sir, I don’t.’
‘I’ll have one issued for you, then, leave it with me.’
Avery nodded politely even as her stomach churned, and this time when she lifted her hand to the door, she opened it and stepped through into the hallway.
‘Good luck with your father, Avery.’
She glanced over her shoulder, suppressing a groan at the thought. ‘Trust me, I’ll need all the luck I can get where he’s concerned.’
But maybe it was her mother she should have been concerned about – her mother who was so fixated on there being two summer weddings that perhaps not even the government recruiting her daughter would be enough to deter her.
‘Absolutely not!’ her mother cried, slapping her hand so hard on the table that Avery feared the meatloaf and peas might fly into the air and land in someone’s lap.
‘Avery, I’m aware you’re a grown woman, but you have no right to speak to your mother that way at the table,’ her father cautioned. ‘Look at how upset you’ve made her.’
Avery shut her eyes for a moment, before taking a breath and levelling her gaze first at her father, who looked as if she’d just said something beyond reproach rather than tell them about the job offer she’d received, and then at her mother, who was now dabbing her eyes.
‘I know this is a shock, but all of us, men and women, are being asked to help with the war effort, and I’m honoured to be one of them. Aren’t you at least proud that I’ve been asked?’ She turned to her father. ‘I thought you’d be proud, at the very least, that your daughter has been asked to fulfil an important role for our country.’
‘I should never have let you get that degree,’ her father muttered, and Avery felt her face fall. ‘Look what it’s done, having her head filled with such nonsense. That was the start of all of this, and now she thinks she can help us win the war!’
She wasn’t entirely certain she knew who he was talking to, because her mother was now clutching the little gold cross she wore around her neck as if a terrible sin had just been committed that Avery needed forgiveness for, and her sister was looking the other way.
‘What about your wedding?’ her mother asked, her eyes wide and filled with tears. ‘What about Michael? Does he know about any of this?’
Avery swallowed. ‘I wanted to tell you first, but my intention is to call off our engagement. I’m going to see Michael tomorrow.’
‘You could get married quickly, put an end to all this,’ her father said, taking a large sip of wine. ‘They wouldn’t ask a married woman to go, so that’s what we’ll do. We’ll bring the wedding forward.’
Her mother’s eyes widened, full of hope, and Avery knew she had to let her down gently right now, before they both got carried away.
‘Yes, that’s exactly what we’ll do! Michael doesn’t ever have to know about all this!’
‘I mean to call off the engagement, not to delay it.’
Avery looked sideways when Charlotte squeezed her fingers, surprised by her sister’s sudden show of affection. Avery had hadplenty of arguments around the dinner table with her parents over the years, but her sister had never once showed any interest in supporting her; she’d always sat there quietly and kept her eyes on her plate. Until now, it seemed.
‘We should be proud of our Avery,’ Charlotte said. ‘Shame on you both for acting as if she’s done something terrible. I can’t believe how brave she’s being to even consider this.’
The table fell silent then, and Avery mouthed ‘thank you’ to her sister as she squeezed her hand back, wondering how she’d ever repay Charlotte for standing up for her when she most needed it.
‘We only have a few more days with Avery here, and I’d personally like to make the most of it,’ Charlotte continued.
‘You’re certain this is what you want?’ her mother asked. ‘You understand what you’re throwing away?’
‘Yes, this is what I want, and I’d much rather do it with your support than without.’
Her father grumbled to himself and her mother dabbed her eyes again, but they both quietly picked up their cutlery and slowly went back to eating dinner as if Avery hadn’t just told them she was leaving.
And it wasn’t until later, when they were both in their beds, that she finally had the chance to thank her sister properly for her show of solidarity.
‘Thank you, for what you said tonight.’
