29. Librarian

29

LIbrARIAN

I dusted the counter off with a clean white rag, moving Sylvan's elbow from where it rested. "You could make yourself useful," I told him, "Instead of lounging around eating seeds like a squirrel."

Sylvan straightened up, depositing a handful of his snack on my freshly cleaned counter. "They're roasted maple seeds, hardly a squirrel snack."

"Are you certain about that?" Irving mumbled from his seat a few feet away.

Sylvan scowled, but Irving was too busy reading to notice the sour expression. Sylvan turned back to me and pushed the seeds a little closer to the edge of the counter I stood behind. "You should try some; you'll love them."

"I have tried them before, and they're perfectly palatable. I prefer my tea and cake, though. What about Irving? Did you offer any to him?"

Irving looked up from his book, finally interested in the conversation enough to tear him away from whatever riveting romance novel he'd been devouring over the past hour. "He knows I won't touch them after I nearly choked on one a few weeks ago. Too dry, I'm afraid – and tasteless."

He added the last bit under his breath, but that was a useless tactic around faefolk, whose hearing was far superior to any human's standard ability.

"How goes the wedding planning?" I asked, hoping a change in subject would prevent any more discourse about a handful of tree seeds.

"We have the venue lined up." Sylvan beamed. "It will be in my field, and I'm hoping I can get some of my animal friends to attend."

"Yes, we're sending out their invitations next week." Irving rolled his eyes.

"We're actually not sending the animals invitations," Sylvan said earnestly, "but we are working on getting invitations out to our friends. You should get yours within a couple of days."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that I shall be invited, at least."

"Of course, dear cousin. We would never forget about you, the one who was so instrumental in getting us together in the first place."

"About that –" Irving stood up from his plush red chair, making his way over to the counter. "Sylvan and I have a request of you." He put his arm around Sylvan's waist, drawing him in closer. "We would like you to be our…what did you call it, Sylvie?"

"Fae of honor – or best fae, whichever you prefer."

My cheeks flushed, a smile spreading across my face. "I must say, I'm flattered – my first ever matchmade wedding, and I have the privilege of being in the wedding party!"

"So, that's a yes?" Sylvan looked at me hopefully.

"Yes, of course. I could never decline an offer as tantalizing as that. I only hope my other matches don't think it's standard to include me in their future weddings."

"I'm sure they will," Irving said, "but you can cross that bridge when you come to it. Now, Sylvan, I think we should leave and let the Librarian get back to work."

"I suppose so. You can keep those maple seeds, cousin. They're the perfect treat during a long day of work."

"I'll remember that. Goodbye, both of you. Enjoy your day together."

"You know we will," Sylvan called back before the door shut behind them with a cheery jingle.

As soon as they were gone, I swept the maple seeds off my work surface and into the bin before anyone else came in. I loved my cousin, but Irving was right about those seeds – not the best if one wished to eat something that didn't taste as though it were meant for the birds and other tree-dwelling creatures. I sat back in my chair and sighed, pulling out the big book of matchmaking from under the counter.

"Another successful match, and one of the most surprising ones yet, if I know anything about my cousin."

I glanced up at the small painting Sylvan had brought as a gift. It was of him and me as children, playing in the creek by the houses we grew up in.

"Yes, this couldn't have worked out better than if I'd planned it – which, in a way, I did."