Page 17

Chapter Seventeen

A light breeze stirs the leaves of the tree overhead. The shushing of the branches is as lulling as the warm air. I could nap right here on this park bench.

Knowing that the books I ordered should come in tomorrow, I decided to skip the bookstore today. Will Brent even notice when I don’t show up? I stare across the expanse of grass, my book closed in my lap, with my finger marking my place. Hot Dog Cart Guy helps a couple of customers on the other side of the park, and I momentarily feel guilty for not stopping to say hello as I promised I would. My gaze wanders. There’s a woman speed walking her dog, a couple walking hand in hand, and a group of kids fighting over something one of the kids has.

I squint. It doesn’t look like a friendly fight. I lean forward.

The kids are about twelve years old, I think. Three boys are trying to tug something out of a girl’s hands. She cries out, and before I consciously decide to, I bolt from the park bench. I hook the long strap of my purse over my head, so the strap is across my body, and shove my book inside my bag as I run. The girl cries out louder and sounds more frightened, so I pick up speed. When I get close enough, I yell with all the force in my body. “Hey!”

All four kids turn to look at me and the boys’ eyes widen comically. They let go of the girl immediately and take off in the opposite direction. I slow to a stop next to the girl and stand, panting, with my hands on my hips, glaring after their retreating backs.

I swing my attention to the girl, who looks up at me with round eyes.

“Are you okay?” I ask, and though I’m still breathing hard, she understands and nods. “It looks like they didn’t get…that.” I point to the thing she clutches in her hands.

She looks at it too and shakes her head.

Her silence is a little unnerving. “What’s your name?”

Her eyes lock on me, but she lowers her chin so that she’s looking at me through long dark lashes.

I laugh. “I’m a stranger, huh?”

When she nods, the three braids sticking out from her head bounce around like they’re on springs. It’s adorable. Something about this girl tugs at my heart. Or maybe everything about her.

“Yeah, I guess I understand. Are you sure you’re okay?”

Another bob of the head.

“Do you know those boys from school?”

Bob. Bob.

“Are they mean to you at school too?”

Nod. Nod.

My heart aches for her. School is hard enough without getting bullied. A distant memory of Ava being bullied flashes through my mind and my anger piques. I glare across the park to make sure the little hoodlums aren’t returning for more. “Do you have friends you can hang out with to keep you safe? ”

She shakes her head and looks across the park, too. Maybe to see what I’m glaring at.

“You don’t?”

“I’m new,” she whispers.

“Where are you from?”

“Virginia.”

I bite my lip. That’s a big move. Then I frown. “But if you know them from school, aren’t there any kids who you met that you could get to know better?”

“Summer school.”

“Oh.” Then I get an idea. “Hey, you up for a trip to the library?” I point to the building at the far end of the park.

The girl eyes me suspiciously and leans away from me.

“I think the library might help you. We can walk.”

She considers me and then the library and finally shrugs.

“My name is Sam, by the way,” I say, as we head across the grass toward the big brick building.

“Latisha.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Latisha. I’m very sorry you have bullies in your class at school.”

She eyes me with a critical eye. “Is your hair really that color or did you dye it?”

I laugh. “My hair is really this color.”

“You’s looks like you’s is made from snow or somethin’.”

She has a drawl that makes her difficult to understand, but I’m so excited that she’s talking that I don’t want to frustrate her back into silence by asking her to repeat herself. “Sometimes people call me the ice queen because my skin and hair are so white.” Mostly my brothers, but Latisha doesn’t need to know that.

“You’s was scary when you come running at us.”

I replay her words in my head before I can figure out what she said. “Was I?”

She nods. “Like that mean witch in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.”

“I was that scary?”

“Uh-huh. When you’s was running you was.”

“Scared those stupid boys away.”

When Latisha grins, it transforms her face. Her teeth gleam bright and pink spots blossom on her dark cheeks. I’m enamored by her round, glittering brown eyes. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen eyes so dark before. Her happiness is infectious, so I beam back at her.

“Thank you for scaring them away. I would have cried had’n I lost this.”

I look down at her hands but don’t know what she’s clutching. “It’s special to you?”

“’Twas my little brother’s. He died in a fire. I carry this to remember him.”

She spreads a knitted cap across a palm. Bands of yellow, mint green, and baby blue yarn make up the impossibly small cap. I bite my lip. “Oh, Latisha, I’m sorry. How old was he?”

She closes her fist around the cap. “Not a year yet. Almost.”

We step onto a large patio in front of the library and come to a stop. “Is that why you live here now? Because of the fire?”

Latisha stares at the hat in her hands and nods. “My momma died too. I live with my auntie now.”

How tragic. I can’t even fathom the grief and sorrow she must be living in. I gulp down a knot of emotion. Suddenly, I feel very inept. I have no life experiences whatsoever to help this little girl. I look up at the stately brick library looming over us and say a silent prayer that they will be able to help her. “Let’s go inside.”

She nods and we cross the patio to the large doors. I yank one open and hold it for her, and she walks in with an open, curious gaze. The lobby of the library is two stories tall. A ring of windows near the top allow sunlight to stream down to the slate floor. Straight ahead, a wide staircase winds up to the second floor. A massive wooden circulation desk sits to the right of the doors and the lobby is lined with shelves for all the requested materials being held for library patrons. There are several self-check stations around the lobby, and bulletin boards with posters for local events. It has a welcoming vibe, and I see Latisha immediately feels at home.

It's thanks to Ava I know my way around this place. I was always so bored when we would stop by to pick up a book or DVD for her, but years of being her friend taught me something, at least. I point to the left. “This way.”

We enter the children’s library and Latisha smiles at the comic book themed carpet, the mural of woodland creatures on one wall, which is new since my last visit, and the circle of oversized beanbag chairs in the reading corner.

There are a couple of desks just as we enter, and I step up to one. The lady sitting behind it smiles at us. “Hi kids, how can I help you today?”

“Hello. My name is Sam, and this is Latisha,” I say.

“My name is Paige.” The lady points at her name tag sitting on her desk.

I eye her, wondering if that’s her real name or a library thing. “Latisha is new in town. I’m hoping you guys might have a summer program or something that she could participate in where she can meet some kids her age.”

“It can’t be in the morning though,” Latisha says. “I have summer school in the morning.”

Paige tilts her head. “I would think you could meet kids there too.”

“Unfortunately, they aren’t the sort of kids she wants to hang out with,” I explain.

“No problem.” Paige spins her chair and reaches for something behind her desk. When she spins our way again, she slaps a brochure down and points. “Middle school, right, Latisha?”

Latisha knits her brow. “I’m going into seventh grade.”

Paige nods. “We have a reading group for kids in sixth through eighth grades that meets at 2:00 every Tuesday and Thursday. They meet outside in the park unless it’s raining. If that’s the case, they meet in the multipurpose room.” She points to the back corner of the children’s library where we can see a door labeled “Multipurpose Room.” “The first hour is for reading and the second hour is for literary-themed games.”

Latisha raises an eyebrow. “What are they reading?”

“You can read anything you’d like.”

I clap my hands. “That sounds like fun. You should totally do that, Latisha.”

Paige looks at me and smiles. “I’m glad you think so. They could use another volunteer. The gal that was helping had an accident and is out for the rest of the summer.”

I look at her and shake my head. “I don’t know anything about books. I couldn’t do it.”

“You don’t need to know about books,” Paige says.

“Please, Sam. I’ll do it if you do it.” Latisha presses her hands together as if in prayer, her brother’s tiny knit cap clasped between them. My heart squeezes.

Seeing the hopeful look on Latisha’s face, there is no way I can say no. I’m still skeptical though. “I read for an hour and then ask trivia questions for an hour?”

Paige bobs her head in a yes-no kind of way. “The games vary. Some are like a cake walk game, but with book titles or literary-related questions, there is a literary-themed balloon toss, literary decathlon, stuff like that. But you just facilitate them. Tammy is one of our children’s librarians. She organizes all the games. It’s really fun. Seriously, if I could get away with it, I’d have you sit here for two hours, and I’d go out there. ”

“Please, Sam.” Latisha draws the word please out for a full ten seconds while she bounces on her toes. Seriously, this girl is a professional beggar.

“Tuesday and Thursday?” I ask.

Paige nods. “Through the summer.”

“Okay, Latisha, I’ll give it a try, if you do.”

The girl jumps up and down, clapping. “Yes. Thank you.” Then she looks around in panic and whispers, “Sorry.”

Paige chuckles. “We don’t really have a noise ordinance in the children’s library.”

What an unexpected turn of events. I’ve known this girl for maybe ten minutes now and already she’s imprinted herself on my heart. First, I save her from bullies, and now I’ve become the newest volunteer at the local library. Yeah, no one is going to believe that last part.