Stay With Me

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

The library was redbrick, and located just a block away from my apartment. As I pushed open the glass swing door, I let my eyes wander around, especially in the area of rows upon rows of bookshelves. It has been two days since I called Jay. I knew that he works here only on Mondays and Wednesdays; however, I still tried to spot a tall guy with ash blonde hair. Good thing he was not here. I couldn't have him nagging me about the game again.

According to him, it was already a torture to make him wait for three agonizing days before he could have his game. When he annoyingly persuaded me to give it to him, I gave him a two choices— wait for three days, or have it the next day but I’ll make it available for anyone to purchase it in the internet first. He hated it when someone buys the software first other than himself. So he kindly picked the first choice. When I say ‘kindly’, I mean minus the rants and whines.

I contentedly absorbed my surrounding. I really like being in peaceful places like this one. It made me think as though all is well in the world when evidently it’s not. I could hear nothing except for the quiet turning of pages and the soft, muffled voices of the readers. I turned to the circulation section of the library and I saw Mrs. Worth talking to a young woman, who had too many books that her hands could handle.

The good librarian has her back turned to me so she didn’t see me standing on the other side of her desk. I patiently waited for her to finish her conversation. Fortunately, I didn’t have to wait long. As soon as the woman scurried off to a nearby table, Mrs. Worth finally turned to my direction. Her face that was etched with gentle lines that reveal more wisdom than age brightened in recognition.

“Hi, Mrs. Worth. How are you?” I smiled.

“I’m great! You look beautiful as always, Sophia. Ah, your brown curls are much better than thestylistic hair of those young women I see in beauty magazines,” she nodded appreciatively.

My eyebrows raised, and I blinked several times in disbelief. I can’t imagine Mrs. Worth sitting on a corner, reading fashion and beauty magazines. An image of her reading a book that contains all the facts in the universe or at least a newspaper always came up to mind every time I remember her. I thought I knew her quite well, but this revelation made me grin.

“Thanks, Mrs. Worth. You’re quite beautiful yourself.”

“Thank you, dear. Oh, I nearly forgot,” she said, reaching her arm to the bottom of the desk. “I saw an interesting book about computers and I thought you would be interested,” she raised her arm and placed a familiar book on the desk, “in this. I put this aside for you.”

I warmly smiled, touched by her kind act. However, I have already borrowed and returned the same book few weeks before. “Thank you for being thoughtful, Mrs. Worth. But I have read that book a couple of weeks ago. I’m sorry.”

“Oh, is that so? Ah, I forgot that you borrowed it already. Don’t be sorry, my dear. I’ll return this to its proper place.”

“Let me do that. I was going to find some books anyway. I will just put it in its bookshelf.”

She gave me the book, thanking me. At that moment, another woman approached the desk, and Mrs. Worth smiled to me before answering the woman’s inquiries. I sauntered to the bookshelves that were in the back portion of the library. The books in those shelves were all about computers and programming. Just then I remembered what has happened two days ago, when I unintentionally wandered around the erotica section and a guy saw the book I was holding. I sighed and made a mental note to avoid the shelf on the third row.