Our pizza adventure was a success. During dessert, Conny even dropped her resolution to call Paco by his surname. Even if this was still far from romantic, I counted it as a major win for their relationship. Danny lived in a nine-year-old's heaven and when we left the pizzeria, Amber hugged me and whispered a "thank you" into my ear. It made me feel awkward, since I just contributed a few minor bits of conversation while I wolfed down a delicious pizza.
The next morning, I had my arms elbow deep in the dishwater when Conny arrived.
"Excuse me for being late, but getting Danny out of bed was a hassle today."
"I believe it—he was exhilarated yesterday. You were right that it wasn't the best idea to go out for dinner."
She shook her head. "No, it's fine. I haven't seen my children so happy in a very long time. Thank you for joining us. I'm sure you had other plans for the evening."
It was my turn to shake my head. "Not really. I—well, my boyfriend dumped me three months ago, and I'm not in a hurry to replace him." My wounded heart still hurt, but Conny had been open with me and deserved to know. "He was a professor at my uni, and I should have known I was just another fling for him. Unfortunately, love follows strange ways."
She bit her lip. "It does, but I'm sorry you got hurt."
With our kitchen towel, she began drying the glasses I handed her. "You are still young and will find someone worth your time. It may just take a little while."
"Well, I'm in no rush. Right now, I enjoy being able to make my own decisions and spend my evenings with whoever I like. Yesterday was fun, and Paco was right about the place serving excellent pizza."
A smile danced over Conny's lips. "That's true, and I'm glad I agreed. Mister—Paco is very good with Danny, and the boy adores him. Even Amber seemed content for once."
I was tempted to tell her how much her daughter worried about her, but if the evening had helped them to rebuild a positive relationship, it was for the best to allow the healing more time. While I replaced the dishwater, Conny brought in the next stack of glasses.
"Thanks." I placed them in the sink and began washing. "Have you heard from Marjorie?"
"Not yet. I promised to call her today to report on the opening ceremony. She should be in rehab now and will remain there for another two weeks."
As Conny had predicted, we finished the dishes in no time and the library was soon tidy and ready for our first customers. When my colleague retreated to the office, Cat appeared, sitting on the front desk.
"And? How did it go?"
"The dishwashing? Rather well, and as you can see, we're already done."
He scowled. "You know what I mean."
I hid a grin, happy I could pay him back in his favourite game for once. "That went well too—but you are one nosy feline for real."
"Ha, says a human, the species whose middle name should be nosy."
"Human nosy sapiens has a nice ring, but so does felis nosy silvestris." His indignant snort made me laugh.
"I am appropriately impressed by your Latin, Lynn, but how do you even know I'm a forest cat?"
"Hm, you're bigger than a house cat, and your bushy tail and chubby cheeks are giveaways. Also, I fear you'd scratch my eyes out if I would dare to treat you like a pet."
My retort earned me his Cheshire grin. "Ah, I know why I like you so much. I think I'll have to have a word with Marjorie and advise her to keep you around."
I wasn't sure his interference would help my case, but I didn't plan to let him know. Instead, I fetched a cardboard box from the storage to pack the books in need of repair, I'd prepared the other day. While I reached for the first stack of my patients, Cat jumped into the box and snuggled up inside.
It seemed boxes were attractive to all species of the feline family. "Hey, get out of there, or I'll send you to the bookbinder's."
"You wouldn't dare." I'd never seen him glowering before. "Besides, you couldn't." Standing up and stretching, he walked through the side of the box as if it were inexistent. "Sometimes, you can be such a killjoy. And you still didn't tell me if Conny and Paco kissed."
"Huh? Did you read too many romance stories?" I planted my fists on my hips. "Why should two adults who know each other only on the surface kiss after eating pizza, and with me and the kids around?"
He shrugged, a very un-catlike gesture, and jumped back onto the desk. "If it went well, as you insist, a kiss would have been the perfect way to end the date. In stories, humans kiss all the time."
"Which proves you read the wrong stories." Although he want the only one, of course. "Besides, where is your partner in crime, Luca?"
I didn't get an answer, as the door chime announced our first customer and Cat took the opportunity to disappear.
In the afternoon, the visit of a class kept me on my toes. Conny replaced me at the desk duties while I gave the kids an introduction to the library. They were older than the last group, around Amber's age, and a butterfly story wouldn't catch their interest. Instead, I tried to point out the importance of reading as part of education. With the teacher's help, I kept them engaged for half an hour, but I was exhausted when I handed them over to Paco for a tour of his exhibition.
Conny gave me a sympathetic nod when I slumped down in my chair beside her. "And that's why I don't enjoy this part of the job. I'll fetch you a coffee."
"Thanks, that's very kind."
She handed me the cup and loaded the returns onto the trolley. "Take a break while I stow these, and you can take over afterwards."
I watched her wheel the trolley to the thriller section over the rim of my cup. Luca leaned against a shelf and followed her with his gaze, too, then turned to me and winked. I didn't have time to ask him why, though, as a customer demanded my attention.
When Paco came back with the teens, the teacher thanked him for the tour, and with the usual hubbub, our visitors were out the door.
Paco pointed at my now-empty cup. "Do you think I could get one of those? I'm exhausted."
"Sure, give me a second."
I left the door to the office open while Paco leaned against the desk. With the freshly brewed coffee, I was on my way back to him when a loud clatter and a muffled outcry reached me. My gaze found Paco's as I slammed the cup down onto the desk, coffee sloshing over the polished hardwood, and sprinted towards the back of the library. He followed on my heels.
"Conny, is everything alright?" I didn't get an answer.
The first three aisles were empty. But in the last one, a figure lay motionless on the floor amidst various books and two metal shelves.
"Conny." Paco overtook me and slithered to the floor beside her, reaching for her wrist.
Her eyes fluttered open, but a thin thread of blood ran down her temple where a book or a shelf had hit her. She groaned and reached for her head.
"Ouch, that hurts."
"I'm sure it does, and you might have a concussion. Look at me, please." Paco moved his digit in front of her face. As far as I could tell, her pupils were the same size and followed the movement of the finger without a problem.
Paco came to the same conclusion. "You were lucky. How did this happen?"
I glanced at the light above us—we were in the classics section—but it didn't waver. Still, I had my suspicions. "Conny, do we have a first aid box somewhere?"
"It's in my office drawer." She tried to sit up, and Paco assisted her.
"I'll fetch it." I rushed to the office, past three women chatting in the sitting area, oblivious to the accident. How they could have missed the clatter was beyond me.
Of course, there were six office drawers on Conny's desk. I found the white box adorned with a bright red cross in the last one, hidden beneath a stack of papers. I dropped them onto the desk and hurried back, picking up Paco's abandoned coffee on the way. Perhaps this was more needed than the first aid box.
Paco had assisted Conny to stand up and led her towards the sofa in the meantime. "Please, you need to rest."
The ladies gasped at the sight of the blood and made room for her. "Oh dear, what happened?"
"A shelf toppled over. Please don't go to the last aisle. It might be dangerous."
One woman volunteered to block the site with a few sitting cubes, and I thanked her—glad she made the other two help her.
Paco pressed Conny down on the couch. "Let me check that wound, please." When she shrank back, he glanced at me. "Or let Lynn check it. We must assure it doesn't need stitches."
I pressed the coffee into her shaking fingers and sat down beside her to inspect the cut on her temple. It was about three centimetres long and not too deep, but the surrounding tissue was swollen and turning purple.
Paco had dug a bottle with disinfectant from the first aid box and I dabbed some of it onto the wound. "It is not deep, but I think it will be best if you show it to a doctor or a nurse anyway, just to be sure."
"If you want, I can drive you." Paco dug a car key from his pocket.
Conny's gaze drifted from him to me. "But it's still early. We need to finish here first."
"It's no problem to do that by myself. Just get your things and let Paco drive you to the doctor. I'll also call Amber, just in case it's getting late."
She downed her coffee and touched her temple. "Perhaps you could bring me home instead? I'm developing a headache."
In the end, it was a one of the helpful ladies who convinced her she needed to see a doctor. "Look, I was a nurse, and I'd say this needs professional cleaning. No stitches probably, it can be taped. But you should do it as soon as possible."
Conny caved in, and I helped her stand up. While she went for her bag and coat, Paco scratched his chin.
"Just wonder how this can have happened. Perhaps one of those kids found this funny."
I had my doubts, but Cat and Luca weren't corporeal enough to manipulate the shelves, were they? "Possible, but why would they do this?"
The ex-nurse shrugged. "Boredom, or pure malice. Make sure your colleague gets some rest."
Paco nodded. "I will, thank you. Lynn, I'll come in early tomorrow and fix the shelves. Please take care, just in case there is another trap set for you."
"I will, promise. Tell Conny to stay home tomorrow, and that I'll manage without her."
He gave me a nod as soon as Coony reappeared, he took her arm to guide her out of the library.
After thanking the nurse and her friend and checking out their loans, I made the promised call to Amber. She took it in stride and agreed to send Conny to bed straight away. If I had a daughter one day, I hoped she'd be as level-headed as Amber.
Then, I checked the classics section to make sure our helpers had done a good job of sealing it off and brought the first aid kit back into the office. With a sigh, I picked up the stack of paper to stow it on top of it when my gaze fell on the title on the front page.
"Luca's Dream."