Page 180 of As They Are
“Let’s take the main one.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Why?”
“There’s just something I wanna save for the end that you’ll see if we go any farther.”
“Wait, what is it?”
“If I tell you, it ruins it.”
She groaned. “But now I’m curious! Is this the special surprise from months ago?”
“Yes.”
“Aw, come on. You know I’m terrible with surprises. Especially after the gender reveal.” She paused and then she raised a single eyebrow. “What if I ran?”
“Do you really think you can outrun me?”
“I did back in gym class.”
“You’re several months pregnant.”
“Wanna try me?”
“Mollie, don’t ruin it for yourself.”
She let out another loud groan and stalked to the main stairs. Her mood quickly changed when she saw all of the new working stations as well as the massive bookshelves.
“Wait a second, is that an erotica section?”
“Yep. Tammy requested it.”
“Tammy?”Mollie’s jaw hung open. “I mean, good for her, but that’s not what I expected.”
“I wonder who’ll use it. You know Marjorie is gonna keep track.”
“I’ll have to keep you posted.”
There was a pang in my heart. I loved it here, and I wanted to see how it looked when it opened. Hell, I wanted to read books from here, just like everyone else would.
But what Henry and I had discussed was fresh on my mind.
“You might not have to do that for long.”
Mollie turned to me. “You’re coming back after your project, aren’t you?”
“I think I am. I really like it here and I wanna stay.”
“Yes!” She pulled me into a tight hug. “I wassohoping for this! So, will you find work out here?”
“I’m not sure,” I replied. “I don’t know what all there is to do. I might be traveling a lot, but I’ll make it work.”
“If anyone can find something in a small town, it’s you.” Mollie continued to hug me tightly. “I’m so glad you like it here.”
“Me too.” I wrapped my arms around her. When she pulled away, her eyes were misty, but she went through the other sections as she sniffled.
“I wish I could be here for opening day, but I have that big scan.Whydid I schedule it for that day?”
“You didn’t know,” I said. “Neither did I. It was all up in the air until now.”
