6. Everly

Chapter 6

Everly

I glance away from my computer to make sure Anne Marie isn’t nearby and sit back in my chair for a minute. Luckily, she’s pretending to be busy helping a patron at the checkout counter while catching up on some local Cozy Creek gossip. Our Cozy Creek library is small but a surprisingly busy place for our cozy little town. Hence the name. It’s our hidden gem that the rest of the world has begun to discover, and we seem to be growing. Anne Marie, our town librarian, has made this library what it is. The programs she’s set up for the past few decades are impressive and invaluable to our community. I’m proud to work here, and truth be told, it’s one of my favorite places on earth. I have so many memories here. The smell of books, orange furniture polish, and coffee makes me smile. All is right with the world when I come through these doors—as it should be. And I also want that for anyone else who passes through the doors. We’re doing important work here, and it matters.

I’m thinking about the emails I received from the property management company. I feel terrible for the first rude email that I sent. And then the person who responded was so nice. I decided to write back and can’t keep the smile off my face. Maybe I’ll make a new friend here. God knows I could use more friends here in Cozy Creek. It’s been hard making friends as a grown-up.

To the kind person who puts up with a rude tenant:

Thank you for your kind response even though I don’t deserve it. I’m just struggling right now. I moved back to Cozy Creek last spring, and it’s been a tough adjustment. I don’t know whether I need a hug, an extra-large coffee, two months of sleep, a shot of tequila, or eight hundred and twenty-seven chicken nuggets. I’m working and struggling with everything, and life is just hard right now. But it’ll be fine. Thank you for your kindness. I’m sure you didn’t want to hear all of this. Please let me know if you hear of any part-time jobs in Cozy Creek. I’m looking for a part-time job to make more money. But don’t worry, I will always pay my rent on time, and I appreciate you renting this home to me. This house is very special, and you have no idea how grateful I am. I try to take good care of it.

Signed,

Your 2906 tenant who pays rent on time first and foremost.

I need fresh air. Standing, I stretch and grab my purse. “Anne Marie, I’m going to grab a coffee. You want one? ”

Her head pops back into the office. “Yes, please. It’s also pumpkin bread day. Can you see if Hayley has any left? I have cash in my top drawer.”

I wave my hand at her, smiling. “I’ll get it. Be right back.”

I love working at the library with her. She’s always been a wild card. She’s not your typical seventy-five-year-old librarian. No, she’s a spitfire. She’s usually adorned in animal prints and bold patterns. Her signature large multicolored glasses are always fun, and she changes them up daily, depending on her outfit. Today, they’re bright orange on a string hanging from her neck, and she’s adorned in cheetah-print pants and a black shirt. I can’t help but smile when I’m around Anne Marie. She’s mentored me into who I am today. One of the things that I love about her is that she has always worn bright red lipstick for as long as I’ve known her. And call me crazy, but it works for her.

When I was seventeen and sitting in the library talking books and drinking coffee with her and Hayley, I asked her why she always wore her bright red signature lipstick. She had explained to me that when she was younger, she had been married, and her husband had cut her down, belittled her, and kept her from working outside the home and using her library science degree. He also hated it if she wore any kind of makeup even though she’d liked it. She said it made her feel pretty. He’d wanted a very traditional wife who didn’t work, stayed home, and took care of a house full of kids. And she explained that while there was nothing wrong with that, it just wasn’t what she wanted. She wanted to be free to be herself without having to answer to anyone who didn’t support her ambitions.

She explained to us that during that time, she did what nobody else was doing. She paved a different path for herself. When they’d ended up getting a divorce, she started wearing bright red lipstick every day as her act of rebellion. It made her feel confident and beautiful. She told us to find our favorite signature lipstick color, wear it proudly, and always do whatever makes us happy. And wouldn’t you know, she had two tubes of lipstick sitting on the counter for us when we walked in a week later. I’ve used up all that lipstick, but the empty tube is still in the zipper part of my purse today as a reminder to be happy even over a decade later. Anne Marie and Anna McCreedy are the closest I’ll ever get to a grandmother and mother.

What she said to me that day didn’t register at the time, but later, when I felt broken down while living with Richie, I thought about Anne Marie a lot and how she was brave and decided to choose a different path for herself. So one day, I bought bright red lipstick and began to wear it. Call me crazy, but it gave me more confidence and the courage to advocate for myself. Who knew red lipstick could do that? I sure didn’t understand it until I did. And Richie hated it. All of it. The lipstick, the confidence, the advocation. All the red flags added up, and eventually, there were so many it felt like the carnival was in town. So I left. And I’ve worn red lipstick ever since. Because it makes me feel good. Only now, I wear a lip stain, so it doesn’t come off and lasts all day. Anne Marie was tickled when I bought her a tube, and now that’s all she wears, too. Anne Marie will never know how much she’s done for me and how much she means to me. Who knew good friendship and red lipstick could change a woman’s life?

Anne Marie talks about retiring next year, and when I was hired as a part-time librarian, we talked about me taking her position when that day came. I would love that, but I also don’t want her to retire. But when she does, I know we’ll still be close. Even though I was gone for several years, Anne Marie welcomed me back into Cozy Creek and the library like I’d never been gone, and she loves Willow just like a granddaughter. She’s like the town grandmother to many. I try to learn everything I possibly can from her so that when I take over for her, I can carry on her legacy here in Cozy Creek. Those are big shoes to fill, but I’ll do whatever it takes. No one loves this library more than me and Anne Marie.

I send Hayley a text to meet me in the center of town and bring me bread if she has any, and she replies she’s on her way to our meeting spot.

Sometimes I wonder what it’s like to go into Bookers and eat dinner with Willow or have a drink with Hayley. To not have to worry about what Nash would think or say if he saw me. He probably doesn’t even want me there.

I avoid Nash because I don’t know how to interact with him now, and I’m so nervous that he wants nothing to do with me. He will break my heart again, and I don’t think I can bear that. But the problem is, I still want everything to do with him.