The Magic of Stories

3 - Luca

When Marjorie finished the chapter, Conny brought a tray loaded with cups and a plate with cookies. I helped her serve tea and coffee, but when I checked on the ghost, he had disappeared. Even when I checked the spot he'd occupied moments before, I couldn't find a trace of him.

Marjorie stepped up to me and took my hand, her pale, age-freckled fingers cold on my darker ones. "Are you fine? You look as if you'd seen a ghost."

A shiver ran down my spine. "I think I have, right now, and yesterday evening, too."

"Oh, I bet you mean Luca. You must be quite sensitive, my dear."

The shiver intensified. "Luca? Sensitive to what?"

"To paranormal manifestations, of course," she hushed me. "But let's talk about this later. We don't want to frighten our guests, do we?"

"Sure." I wondered what the knitting ladies made of the darker parts of the Harry Potter series, if the mention of a see-through visitor frightened them.

"Lynn?" Conny interrupted us to introduce me to a dark-haired man in faded jeans and a navy shirt, the sleeves rolled up to show a pair of muscular tan arms. "Could you please show Mr Martinez the faulty lightbulb?"

His handshake was warm and as solid as his appearance. "Call me Paco. Nice to meet you, Lynn. I'll fetch a ladder and will be right with you."

I nodded, lost for words, my determination to stay away from the classics section dissolving. In the company of the Latino version of Chris Hemsworth, I reckoned I'd be safe enough.

His smile at Conny went unheeded as she turned away without acknowledging the gesture. With a tiny shrug, Paco strode to the back of the library, unlocked the door to a service room, and shouldered a stepladder.

"Okay, show me the culprit."

His chiselled cheekbones and the sparkle in his dark eyes were to die for. I was sure my cheeks were glowing, and I had to remind myself that I'd sworn to never fall for an older man again. Gee, he could probably be my dad. The sobering effect of the thought helped me to lead him to the last aisle without making a fool of myself.

"This one over there, but of course it works now. It turned on and off at will yesterday—I thought someone was making fun of me."

"Hm, it was erratic before, but I never found out why. Let me check again." He unscrewed the bulb and put it back in, but the light behaved as expected. "I think I'll replace it, anyway. Not sure this will solve the problem, though—the wiring might be faulty."

While I watched him change the bulb, I had an idea. "Have you ever seen a tabby cat in here?"

"A cat? No, and I think that's for the better. I bet Miss Conny would freak out with her allergies to about everything from dust to animal hair."

I wasn't sure the cat I had in mind shed hair, but he had answered my question. "Oh, this must be horrible."

"Yes, she's lucky no pets are allowed in the library. Well, let me put that away." He folded the ladder and carried it back to the tech room. "Just call me if the lamp acts up again. You're Majorie's replacement, right?"

"Yes, I hope to be."

His grin sent a fresh wave of heat to my cheeks. "You'll do fine. Would you mind if I come over Monday to talk through the details of the exhibition?"

"Oh, sure." So that's where I had heard the name before. Mister Gorgeous was the photographer the library would feature. "Let's check with Conny when it would be best. I don't know our schedule by heart yet."

His laugh was a soft rumble. Why couldn't he be a decade or two younger?

It turned out Monday would be quiet, and Conny agreed to a meeting to discuss the opening ceremony. "I'll organise the catering, but it will be up to you and Lynn to place the pictures and install the lighting. I have two left thumbs."

Paco chuckled. "Don't worry, we got this—don't we, Lynn?"

I pulled a face. "You've never seen me handle a hammer and nail."

"There are better solutions for hanging pictures, believe me. Well, I have another job to attend. See you on Monday, ladies. Oh, and Marjorie?"

The librarian looked up from her screen.

"All the best with the surgery. I'm sure you'll be back and bouncing in no time."

"Thanks, Paco, I will." She winked with a mischievous smile. "Please watch out for my girls in the meantime, will you?"

Conny rolled her eyes. "We got this Marj. Stop worrying, it's only a few weeks and we won't burn down the place. I'm sure Mister Martinez has better things to do than hang out with a bunch of bookworms."

Paco laughed and left with a wave, but no further comment.

After lunch, I worked at the reception and hoped for an opportunity to talk to Marjorie. But she retreated to the tiny office to make a phone call and finish her correspondence. The hours rushed by, and it was near closing time when she called Conny to discuss a few things. As the library was almost empty by then, I piled the returns on the trolley and began putting them away. This time, I started with the classics, waiting for the lighting to fade. The trick worked. Perhaps Paco had fixed the lamp, or it helped that there were still a few customers around. The illumination was as bright as I could wish, and no creepy visitors turned up.

Far more relaxed, I moved on to the other sections until only two science fiction books remained. In the corner where they belonged, a teen girl with silky blond hair browsing the shelves moved aside for me.

"Thanks, I'll be fast." I slid the two books back onto the shelf. "Are you searching for something specific?"

Wide grey eyes in a pale face found mine. "Do you read science fiction?"

"Love it. What are you looking for, a classic? Something funny?"

She ran a hand through her hair. "I'm mostly into science, but something funny sounds amazing."

"Hmm, let's see." I let my gaze travel along the book spines to a cluster of well-remembered covers and couldn't help a grin as I pressed the first volume of the series into her hands. "Here you go."

"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy?" She turned the book over to read the blurb and a smile lit up her pretty face. "Thanks, that sounds cool."

"It is. At lest I liked it, so if you don't, I'll take the blame and chase up something better for you. Shall I check it out for you?"

"Oh, you work here?"

I winked. "I started yesterday and am still finding my ropes. But I already know how to use the scanner."

Her genuine laugh made me feel good. At the front desk, I scanned the QR codes of the book and her library card. In this moment, Conny came back from the office.

"Amber, why are you here? Where is your brother?"

When the teen rolled her eyes, their relationship was obvious. "Hey Mum, nice to see you too." She slipped the book into her bag, the smile erased. "Danny went with his friend after training to work on a school project, so I thought we might walk home together."

Conny sighed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to shout. You know I'm just worried about you both, right? I'll be right with you when we're finished here."

Amber nodded, her eyes downcast as she trudged to an armchair to wait for her mother.