‘Welcome back,’ said the cute librarian as I walked in the next day. He crouched under the desk and emerged with a book for me. He held it out.
‘Thanks,’ I said as I took it from him. It was wrapped in protective plastic, but there was no denying how old it was. I was surprised it was still in circulation. Libraries didn’t usually keep books that looked like they were older than me. ‘Wow, this looks—’
‘Old?’ he finished.
I nodded. ‘How do you still have this?’
He shrugged. ‘Obviously someone around here believes it’s still got something that needs to be shared.’ He met my gaze again, and this time, it was like he knew. Like he could see right through my book-writing facade.
Looking away, I shoved the book into my handbag.
‘How did the book writing go last night? Make any progress?’ he asked.
‘Um, no. Not really. I wanted to wait until I’d done some more research to carry on, you know?’
He nodded. ‘Of course, of course. Well, let me know how you get on. I’m Ben, by the way.’
‘Thanks for your help, Ben. I’m Niamh.’
I scurried out before I could feel any more like a teenager. I didn’t need butterflies in my stomach thank you very much. That part of my life was over. I’d been widowed and divorced. That was enough relationship drama to last me.
But that didn’t mean I couldn’t check him out from afar, did it?
*
I got home and opened the ancient book. It had that comforting smell of old books, which instantly put me at ease, despite the questions floating around my mind.
I was still reading it when Edie came home a few hours later. She came into my office and leaned against the door. It was her way of waiting until I was ready to speak, but also of demanding my attention.
I looked up from the book. ‘How was college?’
She shrugged. ‘Same old.’
‘You and Josh still OK?’
She tried to suppress a smile, but it didn’t work. ‘Yeah.’
‘Good. I’m glad. I told you it’d all work out.’
‘Yeah, you did.’ She rocked back and forth on her heels. ‘What you reading?’
I tried to hide the book. She didn’t know I was looking into anything ghostly and I wasn’t ready to tell her yet. ‘Just researching some stuff.’
‘You know there’s the internet instead of books older than this house, right?’
‘Books can be good sources of information if you find the right ones,’ I said.
‘Whatever you say, Mum. What are we having for dinner?’
‘There are some leftovers in the fridge.’
Edie gagged. ‘Is that it?’
‘Sorry, I haven’t had time to cook anything.’ I gestured to the book.
Edie rolled her eyes and walked off.
What was wrong with leftovers? They were perfectly edible! It wasn’t like I was a bad cook, but I was a practical cook. I made things in bulk so that I only had to cook every few days. Sometimes Edie found that boring, which was why she rolled her eyes. I heard her banging cupboards as she raided them for something else to eat. It didn’t make it easy for me to get back to my book, so I sighed, put a bookmark in, then went downstairs. ‘We don’t have much in.’
‘Haven’t you gone shopping?’
‘No, I told you – I’ve been busy.’
‘Online shop?’
‘I can’t wait around all day for a delivery.’
‘You can pick slots.’
Did she have to have an answer for everything? I’d been busy! Wasn’t that enough for her? ‘I’ve been busy, all right? If what’s in the house isn’t good enough for you, order a bloody takeaway or something.’
‘Fine.’ She slammed a cupboard door shut, making Tilly and me jump. She didn’t say anything else, just stormed around the house as she put her coat and shoes on. Tilly danced around, not wanting Edie to leave without her.
To Tilly’s disappointment, Edie left without saying bye to either of us. Tilly ran over to me, her head lowered and her expressive face looking sad. I picked her up and hugged her. ‘Don’t worry, Tills, she’ll understand once we have answers. I hope.’
I kissed the top of her head, put her back down, and returned to research. At least with Edie out, I’d be able to finish the book sooner. Which meant getting answers sooner, too.