Page 9 of Demure
Sierra rolled her eyes at his insinuation, as she followed him to another desk area and began collecting more books. Aodhan mustreally think she was an idiot. Maybe, in the past, Sierra would have kept this opinion to herself, but her mouth had a mind of its own as it opened. “You must think I’m dumb.”
As if it couldn’t get any worse, Aodhan shrugged, as if he agreed.
Sierra was about to explode. She took a few more calming breaths, reminding herself that she needed this job if she wanted to continue to live in Dublin. Without any explanation, she snatched the cheat sheet for the Universal Classification System from where it hung on the side of a shelf and slammed it on the desk in front of Aodhan.
“Here’s how you organize the books. Figure it out.” Then she spun on her heel and went to collect another cart from the employee area before she could say something she would really regret.
She told herself not to look back, but her neck didn’t listen to her mental commands, spinning around to see Aodhan squinting at the chart in his hand as if her outburst didn’t have any effect. Either way, it only made her feel worse.
Forcing herself to turn away, she grabbed another cart and began working in a different area of the library.
Sierra managed to avoid Aodhan the rest of the morning. But of course, when she walked into the employee area for lunch, Aodhan was sitting there, staring at the table, a weird expression occupying his face as he frowned at the sandwich in front of him.
Not wanting to deal with his rude comments again, Sierra snatched her wallet and headed for the cafe. She usually ate in the employee room alone during her full-day shifts when it rained, but she was going to get her sandwich and eat outside today, even if her hands froze.
By the time she purchased her lunch and exited the building, it was pouring even harder than when she had entered the café.Even if she had an umbrella, the wind was blowing the rain every which way, ensuring there was no way she could possibly stay dry. Dismayed, but still not willing to sit in the same room as Aodhan, she leaned against the wall and unwrapped her caprese sandwich in the same place she had eaten earlier that week, trying to shield herself from the rain as much as possible and failing miserably.
The sound of the rain calmed her a bit as she savored each bite of her lunch. Aodhan was a jerk; it was simple. She dealt with jerks all the time in Texas. She could handle him. She would just limit their conversations to work only and avoid him the rest of the time. She could do this.
Finishing her lunch and throwing away the wrapper, Sierra made her way back inside, stopping by the women’s room to pat a paper towel on her sopping hair and arms before grabbing one of the carts filled with returns and heading for the stacks.
Sierra loved the peace that came with reshelving books. It was like her own little form of active meditation. It was also a mental challenge to find the right spot for all the books in the cart.
Everything was going smoothly until she pulled out a book that she couldn’t read the title of. Not only that but the label on the side, which would usually tell her where to shelve it, was rubbed off, so she couldn’t see the number.
While she spoke little to no Gaelic, she was usually able to figure out enough to put the book away. But this book didn’t even look like it was written in Gaelic.
Tucking the book under her arm, she went to look for one of the other employees as she normally did when she couldn’t find where to shelve a particular book.
Mona, her manager, was behind the main counter, typing something on the computer as she peered down through the glasses perched atop her narrow nose, when Sierra approached.
“Hey, Mona, can you help me with this book?” She set the title on the desk.
Mona had been working at the library for decades, and it showed. While she was still fit and relatively healthy for a woman inher 60s, she definitely looked like a librarian, and it seemed like her blonde hair was constantly coated in a light layer of dust from digging out old, relatively unknown books for research students.
Mona turned to Sierra, pushing her glasses back toward her eyes, only for them to sink down to the tip of her nose a second later. “Let’s see here…ah, yes.”
Sierra waited patiently, expecting a translation, but instead, Mona turned her head to the side. “Where did Aodhan go?”
“Aodhan? I’m not sure. Reshelving somewhere. Why?” Sierra didn’t understand why Mona would be bringing this up now.
“Because he can read old Gaelic. That’s why I hired him.”
Sierra felt her jaw drop. “He reads old Gaelic?”
“Yeah, I hired him to help organize some of the older texts that even I can’t read. We don’t have many in Old Gaelic, but they’ve just been collecting dust for the past few years. It’s rare we find someone who reads it and has the time to devote to working in the library.”
Sierra huffed, trying and failing to keep the distaste off her face.
Mona didn’t seem to notice. “I’m giving him your Thursday shift by the way.”
She felt her heart drop. “But why?” Her mind immediately began running over all the problems that would cause her financially. “I really need the hours.”
“All student contracts are for 25 hours a week. We’ve had extra shifts, so I didn’t mind that you were working more, but I had to offer Aodhan the same contract. You’ll still get your 25 hours, just not more unless another employee requests vacation.”
Sierra knew better than to argue, as she reached out and took the book back from Mona’s outstretched hand, feeling as if she were in a daze. Without another word, she started walking toward the other side of the library, peeking down each aisle, looking for Aodhan. She hadn’t liked him before, and now she downright hated him. Following her was one thing, but getting a job at her work, which cut into her income, was another thing.
It didn’t take long for her to find his large frame staring at a bookshelf with a book in one hand and rubbing his angled chin with the other. It was clear he was having some trouble.
