Chapter Twenty-Four

Two days had passed since we met with Ariane. I regretted how I left that day, but the emotions of the moment were hindering my manners. I would have normally not been such an ass, but what could I say? I was in shock.

As the days went by, I couldn't even look at Lisa's books; I was too scared. I could ruin her life if I went back. My plan was to get my head right and go back when I didn't feel the way I did about her. If I waited a month, then so be it. I'd start dating and maybe I'd find a distraction. Then I'd be able to go back and I could actually do my job right.

I read Harold's book and found it quite boring, if not tiring. But there were a few times I didn't fall asleep. Learning that the future can change rapidly and so could the past. I did have a duty to the sect of Librarians and I would uphold it. I promised Gram and I don't go back on promises. Except that I promised Lisa I would be back to see her soon, and I wouldn't be upholding that one.

The summer months went by like the breeze on the shore and, in all that time, no distractions were found. The guys in this town were either not available or not attractive. I couldn't find a guy in Bay Ridge nor any town close to it. And I wasn't settling for an okay guy either. He would have to be just as attractive as Lisa for it to work.

Every time I fell asleep I saw Lisa's face just before drifting off. Needless to say, I wasn't sleeping well lately. I was on my third cup of coffee in the secret room, looking over old photos of Librarians. I had discovered many secrets about the women in our sect, places they had seen and people they had learned about. It was the only way for me to keep my mind busy since finding a guy wasn't working out. I found that spending time reading about the women who preceded me as a Librarian kept me on track, for now. The phone rang, pulling me away from the room.

"Bay Ridge Library," I answered in a sleepy voice.

"Jennie?"

It was Rose. I sighed. I was too tired to talk to Rose about anything, especially our fight.

"Yeah, Rose. What's up?"

I wasn't intending to be so brash, but dang, I was tired. If I wasn't, I would have been happy to hear her voice. Truth be told, I didn't even think about our fight; I had other more important things on my mind.

"I called to see if we could meet up and talk," she asked, sounding desperate.

I yawned. "Yeah, sure. When?"

There was a pause and soon after she said, "Um…is now okay?"

Now? Really? I wanted nothing more than to shut off all the lights and drag my tired ass up the stairs to my bed. It was calling me as we spoke.

"Okay. Where?" I gave in.

"Well, there is this old bank building up on the hill. Can we meet there?"

She wanted to talk to me and she wanted to meet at a bank? Weird place for a long talk about friendship, but whatever. I was too tired to argue.

We said goodbye and I closed up the library. Tarryn was off doing who knows what, so I locked up and headed to the bank. The sun was beginning to lower in the sky, leaving a beautiful glow over our town. It was times like these that made me love Maine so much. Nothing was prettier than fall on the East Coast. I loved the summer but there was something so cozy about autumn.

Autumn meant apple cider and pumpkin pie. And it also meant my first Thanksgiving without Gram.

I didn't even know what I was going to do without her this year. And the thought of Christmas without her was even worse.

I liked to think that I was doing pretty well for myself after her loss. I was independent and running the library like she wished. But hosting dinners and celebrating without her by my side was not going to be easy.

It dawned on me then that maybe running away to be with Lisa would be easier than dealing with life without her. I couldn't keep walking away from my life though; I had to stay and live it.

I pulled into the old bank building and saw Rose's car parked in the lot. I swung the truck into a space and shut off the engine. The windows were down and a gush of ocean breeze blew through the cab. It felt amazing, and it reminded me of Lisa and the time we played in the ocean water together. Life was never going to be easy and many things would remind me of her. I couldn't deny that she had made a huge impression in my world; she made me fall in love for the first time. There was never going to be a first time for that again.

"Jennie!" Rose called out to me and waved.

I waved back and got out of the truck. She sat down at a small bench overlooking the beautiful ocean below us.

"I have to ask," I said as I sat down next to her. "Why are we meeting here?"

She laughed. "Well, it's this building that made me realize what an ass I was the last time we saw each other. I was here making a deposit when I saw the sign on the building."

She pointed to the brass sign that I couldn't read from where we stood, by the door.

"It said how long this building has been standing in Bay Ridge. This bank was built in the early 1900s, and it survived the Great Depression. It's a landmark, Jennie.

"I was a total bitch to you, Jennie. I shouldn't have said those things to you. It's not your fault that you left. The truth is," she paused. "The truth is, I'm jealous you got to leave and go to California."

I laughed. "It was only for a year, Rose. Look where I'm sitting now. I'm back in the same town I desperately tried to get away from all my life. I run a library. I'm not a doctor."

She smiled bashfully. "I am a doctor, but I'm a broke doctor who's stuck with student loans. I really want my own office, but I realized that if tearing down your Gram's place was the only way for me to do that, then I was going about it wrong."

I put my arm around her and gave her a hug. I was thankful she understood the importance of keeping the library where it was. "Rose, we are going to get you your own office. You don't need to worry about that."

Rose had been my friend for a long time. She may have been a lot older than me, but she always treated me like an equal. She was a true friend, and I needed her in my life just as much as she needed me.

We sat at the bench talking until sundown. She had an early day and I needed my bed. We hugged goodbye, and I vowed to help her find a way to get her own place.

"Bye, Jennie. See you soon, okay?"

I nodded and waved to her as she drove away.

As I walked to the truck, I passed by the bank. It survived the Great Depression and that was pretty incredible. Any building that survived such a time was amazing. The brick front looked like it had been re-done a few times, but the foundation was strong.

The two-story building had a lot of history, and I bet it was beautiful in its time. I wished I could have seen it when it was first built.

The brass sign on the front that Rose had told me about looked like it needed a good polish as I looked closer to read it.

When I did, I felt faint. My whole body began to shake. I wasn't just standing at the site of history, I was standing at the site of Lisa Manoban's history.