Page 59 of Must Love Libraries and Libations
Granik snorted then swallowed a laugh.
Embarrassed, I cleared my throat then said, “I was…petulant, but I will attend.”
“And we want him looking sharp. He’s wooing a girl.”
“Wooing a girl? Well, then we’d best get at it. Where are the shirt and jacket? I will take the measurements.”
“I’ll fetch it for you,” Granik said, then departed.
Missus Lightfeather gestured to me. “Now, sit if you please, I need to take some measurements.”
Feeling awkward, I settled in, turning so she could reach me more easily. At once, she set to work. Dipping into the basket, she pulled out a measuring tape that seemed to be made of magic and sunlight. Giving it a shake, she set it to work, the magical band measuring my back, including the joints of my wings.
“I’m surprised you remembered me,” Missus Lightfeather said. “We rarely see you outside the library.”
“You used to come for books. I remembered…” I said, then smiled shyly. “I remembered your red hair,” I admitted.
At that, she laughed. “It’s been a long time since I had that red hair.”
“Yes, well, I have been at the library longer than the building itself. It seems like yesterday to me.”
“Well, you’re not part of the building just yet,” she said with a laugh. “Petulant or not,” she added, giving me a knowing smile. “Wooing a girl, eh?”
“Trying.”
“Trying? And failing or succeeding? Or being too petulant.”
“The latter.”
She laughed. “In my experience, a gesture to show her how you really feel goes a long way, but what do I know?”
“Quite a lot, I’d guess. I wasn’t the only one who noticed your red hair. I remember quite a few young men offering to carry your books home.”
“They did, but none did it as well as Hob,” she said, then smiled softly. Setting her hands on her hips, she fixed me with an amused glance. “Caught your eye, did I?” she asked, her eyes sparkling with amusement.
“I don’t think there was anyone in Moonshine Hollow whose eye you didn’t catch, Missus Lightfeather.”
She laughed. “Well, I’m glad to see you’re doing something about it this time. Now, stand up. Let me see the length on those pants,” she said, looking over me, assessing. She bent, her ethereal measuring tape snapping around my legs once more. “A quick hem on those will have them in good shape. Off with them. I’ll make all the alterations and have them over to you at the library by midday.”
“Thank you, Missus Lightfeather.”
“You are welcome, Master Erasmus.”
I turned toward the stairs, finding Granik there, shirt and jacket in his hands.
“I must leave her the trousers as well,” I told him. “But are you certain, Granik? With these alterations, the suit will not?—”
“Oh, Missus Lightfeather can adjust it back when you’re done. It will be like there was never a change at all. She’s pure magic, that witch.”
“Indeed, she is,” I said, then headed upstairs.
As I went, I heard the pair talking below.
“Not a bad chap, is he?” Granik said softly.
“No, not at all. Alone in the middle of people. Sad way to live, really. Glad that’s about to change.”
Alone in the middle of people.
