A month into their relationship, the girl sat in a public library down the street, skimming through a bookshelf.
Voices and the clang of a bell as the door opened. A sharp, familiar voice rang through the air. The girl glanced up.
Do you have it? the voice, female, demanded. The librarian muttered something cautiously, and the voice hummed About damn time.
The girl put back the book she had been examining and walked slowly around the shelf towards the counter. Her eyes widened when she saw the boy's mom, dressed ruggedly, hair messy and knotted and flung over the top of her head.
The mom looked over her shoulder and her eyes landed on the girl. But her hard expression didn't change.
What are you looking at? the mom asked. The librarian was fumbling with a bag under the counter.
The girl said nothing. She stood very still where she was.
The librarian raised the bag and the mom turned, snatching it away. She tossed a pouch onto the table and curved forcefully in a beeline for the door.
She banged it shut behind her without another word to the girl.