into Amy’s arms. All through their outdoor dinner under the arbor they’d all built together earlier in the summer, Marian wondered if she had a chance, but the truth was undeniable. Everything Hemma was became more whenever she looked at Amy. Hemma without Amy would not be the Hemma she was falling in love with. Separately, they were complete women and distinct in their personalities. When they sat side-by-side it was as if they blurred around their edges.
Falling in love—she didn’t know the feeling until it washed over her like the scent of Hemma’s beloved climbing jasmine, heady and inescapable. She wanted somehow to be what Amy was to Hemma, to be the one who made her glow with joy. But she had to face facts.
Amy was everything Hemma loved. Hemma had a Ph.D., and so did Amy, and they both taught at the university. Her own master’s in history had prepared her for a career as a data entry clerk.
“That’s really what you ought to do.” Hemma passed her the platter of ribs.
“Sorry, I was thinking about the books and where I’ll put them,” Marian lied. Would she ever stop blushing?
“You could put a bookcase at the top of the stairs,” Amy suggested. “I know a couple of women who build them, if you wanted something custom-sized.”
“Thanks, I’ll think about it.” Though Marian had no idea how a professor of rhetoric got around so much, Amy always knew somebody who could build, fix, create, drywall, plan, plumb or hammer whatever needed it. Her best friend Ellie was kept pretty busy moonlighting with plumbing jobs just from Amy’s word-of-mouth refer-rals.
“Anyway,” Hemma continued, “you’re wasted doing data entry for the med center. I know it pays decent enough.”
“It’s not like I can do anything with my history master’s. I really don’t want a Ph.D. Teaching’s not my thing, anyway. I don’t have the patience.”
“Librarian—you should be a librarian. You’d get to read books all day.”
Amy chortled. “I don’t think it works that way, my love. Have you ever seen a librarian actually reading?”
Marian said slowly, “I’ve rarely seen librarians with an open book.” The table seemed to shimmer in the afternoon sunlight.
Something is happening, she thought, as if the world just took a left turn. Common sense cautioned that the career path for a librarian was surely a dead end professionally and monetarily. But data entry wasn’t?
“You should look into it.” Hemma relieved Marian of the basket of cornbread they’d picked up at their favorite Amana Colony bakery. “Though it occurs to me that you’d be Marian the Librarian from River City.”
Marian felt as if a breeze would blow her away. “Maybe I should watch the musical again so I’m prepared for the jokes.”
“How about tonight?”
Amy groaned. “We watched that insipid Lifetime movie last week. I don’t think I can take The Music Man this week.” Hemma touched her arm and Marian thought she would melt.
Melt not from the heat, but from the tenderness. “Are you okay?”
“I’ve always hung out at the library. I love books, I love finding books. It always seemed like whatever I could dream I could find at the library. And ever since I was a girl I thought librarians were the guardians of all the mysteries of time. It never occurred to me ...” She had to be crimson by now, but Hemma was smiling at her so encouragingly. “What never occurred to you?”
“That I could be one of the guardians.”
Hemma arched an eyebrow and for one of those rare moments over the course of the last seven years, the universe had seemed made up of just the two of them. “This is you.” All these years later, Marian had to acknowledge, Hemma still saw her for who she was.
She checked the doneness of the custard and inhaled the rich, creamy aroma. Hemma’s favorite dessert was perfect to celebrate the day Marian had decided to go all the way with her career as a librarian.
An M.L.S. combined with
Falling in love—she didn’t know the feeling until it washed over her like the scent of Hemma’s beloved climbing jasmine, heady and inescapable. She wanted somehow to be what Amy was to Hemma, to be the one who made her glow with joy. But she had to face facts.
Amy was everything Hemma loved. Hemma had a Ph.D., and so did Amy, and they both taught at the university. Her own master’s in history had prepared her for a career as a data entry clerk.
“That’s really what you ought to do.” Hemma passed her the platter of ribs.
“Sorry, I was thinking about the books and where I’ll put them,” Marian lied. Would she ever stop blushing?
“You could put a bookcase at the top of the stairs,” Amy suggested. “I know a couple of women who build them, if you wanted something custom-sized.”
“Thanks, I’ll think about it.” Though Marian had no idea how a professor of rhetoric got around so much, Amy always knew somebody who could build, fix, create, drywall, plan, plumb or hammer whatever needed it. Her best friend Ellie was kept pretty busy moonlighting with plumbing jobs just from Amy’s word-of-mouth refer-rals.
“Anyway,” Hemma continued, “you’re wasted doing data entry for the med center. I know it pays decent enough.”
“It’s not like I can do anything with my history master’s. I really don’t want a Ph.D. Teaching’s not my thing, anyway. I don’t have the patience.”
“Librarian—you should be a librarian. You’d get to read books all day.”
Amy chortled. “I don’t think it works that way, my love. Have you ever seen a librarian actually reading?”
Marian said slowly, “I’ve rarely seen librarians with an open book.” The table seemed to shimmer in the afternoon sunlight.
Something is happening, she thought, as if the world just took a left turn. Common sense cautioned that the career path for a librarian was surely a dead end professionally and monetarily. But data entry wasn’t?
“You should look into it.” Hemma relieved Marian of the basket of cornbread they’d picked up at their favorite Amana Colony bakery. “Though it occurs to me that you’d be Marian the Librarian from River City.”
Marian felt as if a breeze would blow her away. “Maybe I should watch the musical again so I’m prepared for the jokes.”
“How about tonight?”
Amy groaned. “We watched that insipid Lifetime movie last week. I don’t think I can take The Music Man this week.” Hemma touched her arm and Marian thought she would melt.
Melt not from the heat, but from the tenderness. “Are you okay?”
“I’ve always hung out at the library. I love books, I love finding books. It always seemed like whatever I could dream I could find at the library. And ever since I was a girl I thought librarians were the guardians of all the mysteries of time. It never occurred to me ...” She had to be crimson by now, but Hemma was smiling at her so encouragingly. “What never occurred to you?”
“That I could be one of the guardians.”
Hemma arched an eyebrow and for one of those rare moments over the course of the last seven years, the universe had seemed made up of just the two of them. “This is you.” All these years later, Marian had to acknowledge, Hemma still saw her for who she was.
She checked the doneness of the custard and inhaled the rich, creamy aroma. Hemma’s favorite dessert was perfect to celebrate the day Marian had decided to go all the way with her career as a librarian.
An M.L.S. combined with
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