Chapter 10
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Monday morning I unlocked and then relocked the door to Non-Fiction after me. We had half an hour before letting in the public. The children’s section opened at half past eight to allow the little darlings to change their books on the way to school.
Spotting Mary, I put my hand over my mouth, let out a high-pitched squeak, fell against the wall and said “My god, I’m in shock.”
“Daft bugger,” she replied. “I’ve been early before, you know.”
“I can’t remember the last time.” And to be honest I couldn’t. “Whatever could have caused this hitherto unforeseen event in the space-time continuum?” I’d just finished reading a science-fiction novel.
I was expecting a ‘daft sod’ or an eye roll. But instead I got a smile. I don’t think I’d ever seen Mary smile so widely before. “He’s called Jerry.”
I didn’t need to ask, but I thought I’d play dumb anyway. “Who is, the new milkman?”
“No, silly, the man we met at McDonald’s.”