Chapter 12
Diana
Excuse me miss. Are, uh
are you busy?
Diana looked up from her book and saw an older man smiling at her from behind a pair of oversized spectacles. She quickly stashed her book under the desk and returned his smile.
Oh, no. Im not busy at all.
She glanced around the room, checking to see if any supervisors were nearby, and leaned forward.
Technically, Im not supposed to be reading on the job, she whispered. She gave him a quick wink, as if to ensure that he would keep her secret. He turned a dark shade of red and let out a small chuckle. Apparently, he hadnt been winked at by a woman in a very long time.
He looked over his shoulder at an older woman browsing in the paperback section, probably checking that his wife wasnt watching him, and gave Diana a quick wink of his own.
No reading in a library? Thats absurd. He gave her a sweet smile. Dont worry. Your secret is safe with me.
Diana straightened herself in her chair and cleared her throat. It was time to be professional.
And how can I help you today, sir.
My wife is looking for a book
and she needs some help finding it.
Okay, is she looking for a specific book or a book on a certain topic? Her hands were poised above her keyboard, ready to type at a moments notice.
Well
you see, she read the first book in a series, but she doesnt know what the next book is called.
Thats okay, that why Im here. And I have to tell you that I love a good challenge. So, does she remember what that first book was called or who it was by?
She didnt, ah
tell me. She
well she liked it a lot, but
She noticed that as he talked he was shuffling from foot to foot was as if he were nervous about something. Diana had witnessed this before; as a librarian she often encountered patrons that needed help finding information or books that they were embarrassed about. It was a big part of the job, and one that she considered to be one of the most important aspects of working at a public library. It usually occurred with teenagers wanting to find information that they were too self-conscious to ask their parents about. Being discreet and respectful when helping patrons was important because there was little point to having information available if people were too uncomfortable to ask for it in the first place. Looking over his shoulder, Diana noticed that the woman by the paperbacks, the one that was presumably his wife, was slyly watching them from behind a harlequin novel. It was pretty clear that she had sent her husband to ask for something that she was embarrassed to ask for herself.
Noticing this, Diana lowered her voice by a few octaves. She wasnt whispering, like she was earlier, but she was speaking in a tone that would afford them some measure of privacy. This was a practiced move, one that was meant to let the patrons know that she was being discreet without having to resort to the awkwardness that could result from whispering in a public setting.
Does she remember anything about the book? Any information about the story could help me figure out what the next book is titled.
She told me that it involved a businessman who meets a young lady. He was a billionaire and she was a college student. I think her name was Anastasia
something.
As he spoke Diana was furiously typing away using Boolean logic to link the terms billionaire, college student and Anastasia together in a way that would most effectively limit the search results. She didnt have much to go on, but she genuinely did like a challenge. Unfortunately, this particular challenge looked like it wasnt going to be cracked easily: her first search yielded over two dozen results.
She noticed that a few of them were written by Janet Evanovich. Diana figured that it was probably simply because she was such a prolific author, and not because she had written this womans mystery book, but Diana decided to take a stab in the dark anyway.
Do you know if it was written by Janet Evanovich? Does that name sound familiar?
I dont think that was it
Can you tell me anything else about the book?
He licked his lips a few times and leaned in closer.
Well
it involved
a red room.
Even though his voice had dropped to almost a whisper, judging from the way his wife almost fell out of her chair, Diana was guessing that she could clearly hear their conversation. Her first guess would have been The Shining by Steven King, but judging from how nervous this poor couple was, she was pretty sure she had figured out what book they were after.
She has already read the first book and now needs the second, correct?
Yes, mamn.
Please. Call me Diana and I think I know what book we need
. A few keyboard clicks later, and it looks like we have it on our shelves. Ill be right back!
As she walked across the library towards the adult fiction shelves a young man started quickly walking in her direction. The way he had started to head towards Diana the second she left the reference desk made it pretty obvious that he had been waiting for her to be free. Behind him, near the graphic novels, a group of his friends intently watched him as he made his way over. Clearly he had just told them to watch as he made his move. He may have even told them to take notes. Diana rolled her eyes, dreading what was about to happen.
He approached her from behind as she knelt down in front of the JAN-JON shelf. Before speaking he cleared his throat, as if to make sure she was 100% aware of his presence.
Busy day?
Diana hated small talk, especially when it was coming in the form of a lame attempt to pick her up. A lifetime of dealing with boys, and then later men, who were only interested in her body, had given her an amazing bullshit detector. It wasnt necessarily what he was saying; that was innocent enough. It was the way he said it, as if he were talking to some puppy that needed to hear his soothing voice.
Even though she was pretty sure this guy didnt really need her assistance as a librarian, she decided to keep it professional. Sometimes it was hard, especially with some of the librarys stalkier patrons, but she always did her best to be completely professional.
Its been a little busy. Can I help you find something?
Diana was still bent down as she spoke to him. It made her feel vulnerable, having him standing over her like that as she bent down. She hated that she could practically feel his eyes groping her, but she wanted for find this book quickly for this sweet couple.
Nah, I just have never seen you around here before. You new?
It was true, she had just recently moved back into town. She had grown up in the area, moved away for college for a few years, worked there for a few years, and had just moved back to her home town. Diana had been working as a librarian for several years now, but she had only been working at the Charlesburg County library system for the past month. Of course she wasnt going to tell him any of this.
Yes, Im new.
She decided that she would keep her answers short and professional. She learned that sometimes men would just walk away if they realized that you were bored with them.
Oh, cool. Well, welcome to sunny Charlesburg County. My names Zach. Im in here pretty often.
Apparently, this wasnt one of those cases. Where was this book hiding!?
She was about to give up when she finally found it. It had fallen behind the books on the shelf and was effectively hidden from view. When she didnt find it at first glance she should have checked to see if it had fallen. It was a rookie move and one that Diana secretly chided herself for. Holding the book with one hand, she stood up and dusted off her pleated skirt. Zach was still standing there giving what she assumed was his best come hither look. It wasnt working.
He was a few years younger than herself, with her being twenty-seven, that would probably make him about twenty-four, twenty-five. He wore a college letter jacket, which judging from his build she was assuming was for his work on a football field. She knew the type. Big ego, small dick.
Zach was about to say something undoubtedly charming when he noticed the book she had in her hand.
Someone wanted to read that trash? Tell me thats not for you!
Dianas temper flared, but she kept it contained beneath a fake, candy sweet, smile. She hated when people judged others for what they read. One book may be trash to one person, and be a completely inspiring read to another. No one had the right to judge anyone for what they chose to enjoy in their free time.
Every book has its reader, you know. It was one of her favorite quotes from S. R. Ranganathans Five Laws of Library Science. She had learned about them while pursuing her MLS and it had always stuck with her.
Zach had a look of superiority on his face, one that Diana desperately wanted to remove. Although she had only shared a few lines of conversation with this guy, she knew that he was a scumbag. Sometimes you didnt really need much evidence to know that a person was an awful human being; first impressions are powerful things.
Not that book, he said with a sly smile. That book belongs in a bonfire.
Clearly this guy didnt know much about librarians because if he did he would know that joking about burning books around a librarian was never a good idea. It was becoming increasingly difficult to maintain her professional smile, and for a second it broke.
I dont believe any book deserves to be destroyed. She said it as if she was sentencing him to death; deadly serious without a hint of warmth. It wasnt professional; it was cold, and mean, and she was pretty sure, more than a little scary.
His smile faltered and he took a small step back.
Sensing that she may have crossed a small line she reapplied her fake smile and asked, well, what was the last book you read?
Zachs smug look returned to his face as quickly as it had vanished. He leaned against the nearest bookshelf.
I dont read much.
What absolutely killed Diana was the way he said it, as if he were proud! As if not reading was some kind of a badge of honor to be celebrated!
It was time to end this conversation, that couple was waiting for their book. Without a word she walked past him towards the reference desk. As she rounded the corner she turned towards him and said: you know what? That doesnt really surprise me.