Page 128 of The Librarians

He places a large spoonful of stir-fried pork and wood ear mushrooms—her favorite—in her bowl. “Eat more.”

Popo, her grandmother, follows with a scoop of marinated bamboo shoots—another perennial favorite. “And this too. It has hardly any carbs.”

Hazel eats a great deal that night.

The day before Hazel’s flight, her mother stays over at her apartment. They cook together while streaming a glass-blowing competition.

“How’s Robbie?” Hazel asks.

Her dad’s been gone almost a quarter century and Lillian Kuang has had several significant boyfriends. Hazel really likes the latest guy, who’s been around a solid five years.

Her mother smiles slightly. “He’s planning a vacation for us in December. Told me that it will be somewhere less hot and rainy. I suspect we were headed to Austin to see you, but he’s a bit stumped now that you came back unexpectedly.”

“Nainai would be happy to see you.”

“Ishouldpay her a visit. She’s getting up there.” Lillian pours soup into a pale green porcelain tureen. “What about you, Hazel? What are you planning to do?”

“I finally figured out the playing mechanism for my new game,” enthuses Hazel, waving stems of fresh cilantro in the air. “There’s going to be a criminal element. Some of the books in each round will have been stolen and players will be able to check one another’s acquisitions to see if a book is of questionable provenance. It’s a gamble, of course. If a challenger is right, they receive an amount from the bank equal to half of the book’s value and the owner has the book confiscated. But if they’re wrong, they have to pay pretty sizable penalties.”

“It does sound interesting.” Lillian laughs and shakes her head. “I’m still amazed—and delighted—that this is what you do. I would never have imagined it for you.”

Hazel sprinkles chopped cilantro on top of the soup. She hesitates a little—she thought Nainai would have broached the subject for her, but Nainai has left the choice and the timing of it to her.

Is she ready?

“Actually,” she says, “I never imagined it for myself either. Someone suggested it to me, someone I met long ago.”

Dear Hazel,

I have a stack of postcards from all over the world that I never got to use to write to you. I looked them over and decided to buy a new one of Austin instead. Hope it finds you well in Singapore.

Yours,

Conrad

Dear Hazel,

I write from London, as you can see. I brought Perry’s body back.

Astrid decided not to come, but to visit his grave at some point in the future.

It will be a sad day tomorrow at his funeral.

Yours,

Conrad

Dear Hazel,

Greetings from Edinburgh, where I brought my stepmum and my younger siblings over for a short holiday. They’ve never visited Scotland before.

I’ve had to refrain from introducing myself to the locals as your dream lover.

Yours always,

C.

Chapter Thirty-five