Jaxx and I agreed to meet again, same time and place, nipples thoroughly covered up.
12
On Friday afternoon, I had more back-to-back sessions with Yasmin and Trev. Trev arrived five minutes early, nervously shuffling up to where Yasmin was hunched over her book.
‘Afternoon, Ollie. Is it all right if I wait here?’
I took in Trev’s frayed, but immaculately ironed, bright blue shirt and jeans. A flat cap covered his skull tattoo, and it completely changed his look. He’d trimmed his beard, and I caught a whiff of spicy aftershave when he lifted one arm to nervously adjust his cap.
‘No, of course. If that’s all right with you, Yasmin?’ I glanced at her, still engrossed in the book, the end of a pencil pressed against her bottom lip, thick hair tumbling around her soft face.
She nodded, not bothering to glance up. Trev eyed the chair next to her, before deciding to take the one opposite.
Yasmin finished a couple of minutes later, letting out a heavy sigh as she packed up her things. ‘This is hard work, Ollie.’
‘You’re doing great. You’ve made genuinely amazing progress for only three sessions.’
‘It feels amazingly slow when another bill comes through the door. Or somebody smiles at me with terrible teeth and all I can do is tell them to floss more often.’
‘I can imagine. But trust me, we’ll be booking you in for an exam in no time.’
She stood to leave, causing Trev to spring out of his chair, too.
‘Oh, I don’t think you two were properly introduced last week,’ I offered. ‘Yasmin, this is Trev. Trev, Yasmin.’
Yasmin looked at him for the first time, giving a polite nod. ‘Hello.’
‘Hello.’
Trev adjusted his hat again. A droplet of sweat ran down the side of his face. It was far too hot to be wearing a woollen cap and a thick shirt, but I suspected that might not be the reason for the perspiration.
After a lingering silence, where I supposed I should really come up with something to say, but was too intrigued to see what would happen if I kept quiet, Yasmin eventually gave a small cough and lifted her chin to meet Trev’s gaze.
‘You have nice teeth.’
Before he’d had a chance to gather his wits together, she’d floated out the door.
Trev and I were packing up when Chloe returned, Harry, Hudson and Holly proudly placing their returned books on the counter. ‘We read them all!’ Harry announced. ‘That one I read all by myself!’
Irene peered at him over the top of her glasses.
‘Can we take some more out, please?’
‘That is what the library is for.’
‘Yes, I know, but can one of the library ladies read them to us first again so we know what the funny voices are and if we like the story or if it’s boring or not?’
Chloe gave him a nudge.
‘Pleeeeaaaase.’
Irene searched the library until she found me, already hitching my bag on my shoulder. ‘Sorry, I’m in a rush today.’ I offered an apologetic smile, but the only thing I was sorry about was not having time to stay and hear Irene’s funny voices.
‘Please, Mrs Library Lady, you have to!’
‘It is your job, after all,’ Trev added, grinning.
‘Well.’ Irene cleared her throat, her thumb rubbing the dressing on her burnt hand. ‘I have a lot of very important things to do.’
‘What things?’ Hudson asked. ‘There’s no one else even here.’
‘Things like… replacing your books on the shelves.’
Hudson picked up the stack of books that had been checked back in using the automatic machine, and carried them over to the children’s section. ‘We’ll help you, then you’ll have time.’
Chloe leant forwards. ‘ I know you have a ton of things to do, but they’d be so pleased if you could squeeze in just a couple. They’ve been telling everyone about how brilliant the library is, what great books it has and how the women who work here are really nice.’
‘I’m the only woman who works here at the moment,’ Irene replied, stiffening her shoulders.
Chloe beamed. ‘Well, they must definitely have meant you, then, mustn’t they?’
‘Oh! Well. I could probably make time for one.’
The children let out a noisy cheer.
‘On the condition that you behave yourselves.’
I opened the door to go, stepping back as two more families were about to enter.
‘Are we too late for the Library Lady’s stories?’ one girl asked as she rushed past.