Page 75 of Falling

“So, that’s Booker,” I said, pointing to the towering figure. He might have been imposing, drawn as he was, enormous and sketched dramatically with spiky lines, but he somehow wasn’t. The drawing captured the essence of Booker, strong and warm and radiating love and care.

Maddie nodded eagerly.

“And that’s me? Next to him?” I asked.

Maddie shrugged. “You’re supposed to give people things they like for their birthdays,” she explained. “So I gave him you.”

I flushed all the way from my collarbones to the roots of my hair. I’d already accepted that the whole town would know about us within days, but it seemed like Maddie had figured the two of us out on our own, without having to see me kiss Booker last night.

It was just possible we’d been more obvious than I thought.

Or, at least, that Maddie had seen something in the way Booker was with me that gave him away. Despite the embarrassment, I liked the thought of that.

“I’ll make sure he gets it,” I promised.

“This, too,” Maddie said, and before I could wonder what this was, she wrapped her arms around my neck and squeezed tight. “From me.”

“That, too,” I agreed, unable to help a smile. When she wasn’t chasing me with a sword, Maddie was okay.

Maddie grinned at me and raced back to the children’s section before I could remind her not to run.

I was still blushing when I stood up and straightened out my clothes.

“Sorry about the interruption,” I said. “I’m still not sure I’m cut out for kids.”

Angela’s lips barely twitched, but I could see the laughter in her eyes. “Oh, I don’t know about that,” she said. “She seemed to like you.”

I chose not to mention that a handful of days ago she’d been chasing me around with a cardboard sword.

Being Booker’s friend clearly had more advantages than I’d thought.

“I’m learning,” I said, remembering this was a job interview and not just a tour of my library. “I like to think I’m adaptable.”

“Sure seems that way,” Angela said. “Tell me more about this recording studio you’re setting up?”

I got the tour back on track, stopping to help a few patrons along the way. I found books and helped people log in to their email accounts on the library computers and wrangled the self-checkout machine for a teenager who seemed a little embarrassed to be borrowing romance novels until I noticed one I’d read myself in the pile and told him I thought it was great.

All the while, I had to keep reminding myself that this was a job interview. For the dream job I’d begged a friend to throw my hat into the ring for.

Maybe it was because Angela seemed so impressed by the library itself that I just felt like I was showing it off to a new patron, or someone who’d have some say in its future.

I supposed she would, if I was about to be offered a new job.

Where was Seth going to find someone else to do this?

“I just want to say, candidly, that I’m really impressed with what you’ve accomplished here,” Angela said as I led her to the door.

“Yeah?” I asked, looking back at my library.

My library?

When did that happen?

“Absolutely. It’s obvious this was a nearly impossible job when you got here, underfunded and understaffed, and look what you’ve accomplished! Improvements, a whole host of community programs, a real understanding of the dialogue between the library and the needs of the patrons. You’re a born librarian,” she said.

And I was blushing again. I couldn’t imagine a higher compliment than that.

“Well, I did always want to be one,” I said. “But I was just... doing what anyone would’ve done,” I went on, forgetting again that I was meant to be emphasizing my achievements here if I wanted that job offer.