January
The longest
serving member of staff at the Pipershaven Public Library was Chief Librarian,
Abbie Beach, who was the very epitome of her kind.
Her dark
greying hair was pulled back severely into a bun arrangement, she wore heavy
framed spectacles and dressed in a black pinafore dress over a long-sleeved
blouse, black tights and wore sensible shoes.
She dressed
like that all year round, whatever the weather, the only variety being the
addition of a black or grey cardigan, in the depths of winter.
Abbie was
thirty-seven years old and had worked at the library since she left school and
she loved it.
She was a
private person and didn’t really socialize with the other staff up until the
point Collette Kane joined the staff.
Collette was a
breath of fresh air around the place; she was a University graduate and openly
admitted that she had only taken the job at the Library until she decided what
she wanted to do with her life.
Collette was
the antithesis of Abbie, for a start she did not dress in the subdued manner
that Abbie did, she was an explosion of colours and styles, and her hair seldom
stayed the same colour more than a week at a time, nor was she mousy or private
she was loud and proud, and you always knew when she was around.
The one thing
they did have in common though was their love of the printed word, they were
both well-read and shared an encyclopedic knowledge of books, and so despite
the differences in age, style and demeanour, they formed a rather unlikely
friendship.
Another great
lover of books was local Taxi Driver, Carl Fernandes, who was a regular visitor
even before his niece Collette started to work there.
From the first
moment that her Uncle Carl walked into the Library and said good morning to
Abbie, and she responded curtly, Collette could read between the lines and knew
they wanted each other.
Despite the
fact that she was aloof and standoffish and he was brash and over familiar,
they wanted each other, and Collette knew it, even though they did not.
Abbie had not
been enamored of him when he was a complete stranger, but when Collette
formerly introduced them, she was even less so.
For Carl’s part
he found her mode of dress unappealing, her hairstyle old-fashioned and she was
older, by seven years.
But when they
were discussing a book or an author, they communicated as equals.
Collette didn’t
understand why nobody else saw what she did, or why they didn’t see it, what
she did know was that she was powerless to change it.
However, after
she had watched them do the same dance for months the germ of an idea formed
and quickly grew into a fully developed plan, and she didn’t have to wait long
to implement it.
It was the last
week of January, and the day started the same as any other, but it didn’t
remain that way for long.
Abbie, Collette
and Carl were all standing by the main desk when Abbie asked
“What on earth
is going on today?”
Her question
was in response to seeing more than a few of the Libraries patrons walk eagerly
into the library, take a selfie and then leave just as briskly.
“It’s Library
Shelfie Day” Collette replied and laughed
“What on earth
is that?” Abbie and Carl asked in unison
“It’s
self-explanatory really” Collette replied
“You visit your
local library, take a selfie in front of a bookshelf, i.e. “Shelfie” and then
you share it on social media”
“Why?” Abbie
and Carl asked again in synch
“Well primarily
it helps to promote Libraries” she replied, “and the better the selfie the more
times it will be shared and the more times its shared then ergo the more
visibility “your” Library gets on social media”
“Oh, I see”
Abbie said “I think”
“Come on let’s
do one of our own” Collette suggested
“You, me and
Uncle Carl”
“Oh, I’m not
sure about that” she said doubtfully
“Come on it
will put Pipershaven Library on the map” Collette said
“Oh Ok” she
agreed “Where?”
“In front of
the poetry section” Carl suggested
“Which ones,”
Collette asked “Modernists, Postmodernist, or English Romantics?”
“Edwardian”
Abbie replied
“And Georgian”
Added Carl
“Oh yes” Abbie
agreed
“Ok then”
Collette said “Let’s get into position, I’ll take it and you two can stand
behind”
“No, that’s no
good” she said
“It’s no good
just standing there pulling a face” Collette said
“I was smiling”
Abbie protested
“Or just
smiling” she said “I know, kiss Uncle Carl”
“Absolutely
not” Abbie protested
“That’s not
going to happen” Carl concurred
“You have to
kiss, we need to do something that people will do a double take on, you two
kissing will definitely do that”
“Seriously?”
she asked
“Seriously”
Collette replied
“Is this
alright with you?” she asked Carl
“Well, as it’s
in a good cause, I suppose I’m in” he replied
“Ok then let’s
make this quick Collette” she said, and she turned to face him, and he stooped
down to get in shot
“Ok, go”
Collette said and the reluctant couple puckered up and they kissed, but as her
lips touched his it was evident that it was so much more than a “good cause
kiss” and the kiss lasted for a full five minutes and might easily have gone on
for another five had the assembled patrons not given then a rousing round of
applause which were loud and boisterous enough to bring the kissing couple back
to the moment.
“Well, if
that’s a reluctant kiss, I’d like to see the one when you’re actually up for
it” Collette said
“Well, you’re
not going to get an opportunity” A red faced Abbie said and took Carl by the
hand and dragged him down the medieval history aisle.
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