Lucy's Book Club for the Lost and Found: A heartwarming feel good romance novel(7)

He reached out a hand to rub a thumb across the warmth of her cheek gently. Any minute now her eyes would open and she would smile her soft sleepy smile, his name on her lips. Hello my sweetheart, he would say in reply. Any minute now…

He moved his head a fraction, watching as the sun tracked across the pillow. A gentle sigh stirred the air, as his fingers reached out to caress the cold wrinkle-free expanse of cotton. He closed his eyes for a second, feeling the too familiar weight that settled upon him moments after he woke. Why could he never stay in the hazy dreams of sleep? Why did the daylight always have to rob him of his memories? ‘Oh, my darling, Mary,’ he whispered. ‘I miss you so much.’



* * *



‘Morning Oscar!’ Lucy sang, with a grin. ‘You’re looking especially dapper today, I must say.’

Oscar raised his hand in greeting, the gold signet ring on the little finger of his right hand glinting in the sunlight. ‘Well, one tries, one tries…’ he replied. He straightened up his waistcoat and checked his tie, bright-purple silk this morning. ‘It wouldn’t do to go through life all grey and miserable now, would it?’ he added. ‘And anything which puts a smile on your face, my dear, is worth it for that alone.’

‘Oh, please…’ muttered Rachel beside her.

Lucy gave her colleague a sharp look. ‘Shh,’ she hissed under her breath, moving away from the counter towards the table where she knew Oscar was headed, the evening paper from the night before clutched in her hand. She waited until he had settled himself.

‘Here’s yesterday’s,’ she said, laying the paper down on the table. ‘Would you like the weekly as well?’

He looked up, a thoughtful expression his face. ‘No, I think I shall do fine with just this one, thank you. And when I’ve had enough of that I have a fine Ken Follett to keep me company.’

‘Excellent. Well, I shall leave you in peace for a bit – although it’s Wednesday, don’t forget, so the place will be overrun with singing children before you know it.’

Oscar smiled and shook out the paper. ‘I’m quite tempted to join in myself,’ he said. ‘Except that I don’t know any of the words. They’re not like the nursery rhymes I knew in my day. Besides, I fear my pipes are a little rusty.’

‘You and me both, Oscar,’ Lucy replied with a grin.

Rachel was waiting for her when she arrived back at the counter, pretending to rearrange the reservation shelf.

‘Don’t you think it’s weird?’ she said as soon as Lucy was in earshot. ‘I mean, he only comes in on a Wednesday when the children are here, and he could just as easily sit at the other end where it’s quieter if he wants to read.’

Lucy gave Rachel an appraising look, and held her stare for slightly longer than was necessary. ‘I sincerely hope you’re not suggesting there is anything at all… unsavoury about Oscar. Because that would be extremely rude, judgemental and completely without any basis in truth.’

The young girl had the grace to look a little ashamed, although the jut of her chin still gave Lucy cause for concern.

‘I only meant I find it odd, that’s all.’

‘Rachel, what days do you work here?’

‘Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Why?’

‘Because it might interest you to know that Oscar comes in every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, never on a weekend. He always sits at that table where he spends approximately two and a half hours reading, I suspect because it tides him over until lunchtime, at which point he goes to the Crown for a coffee and a sandwich before his afternoon walk.’

Rachel’s mouth parted just a smidge. She closed it, pursing her lips and swallowed. ‘Oh,’ she said. ‘I didn’t know that.’

‘No, and the only reason I know is because I bother to talk to people, Rachel. Especially people like Oscar, who come here for company and warmth because it beats sitting alone at home. Now, if you’re looking for something to do, the non-fiction returns need shelving.’

Rachel stared at her, weighing up whether she could get away with making a pithy comeback. She shrugged. ‘Yeah, okay,’ she answered. ‘I just find him a bit creepy, that’s all. I’m allowed to, you know. And he dresses weird.’

Lucy watched her walk away, then looked at her watch and sighed. Lucy had never been bothered by Rachel before, in the days when they were both just library assistants, but since Lucy had been promoted Rachel seemed to delight in making trouble. When Clare had announced her pregnancy and impending maternity leave, Lucy had been as surprised as the next person when her own name had been put forward to replace her. She could understand how Rachel felt; after all, she’d been at the library a lot longer than Lucy had. At first, she had thought her rise up the ladder was down to her degree and it was simply a matter of qualifications, but lately she had found herself becoming a little irritated by Rachel’s manner, and she wondered whether Clare had felt the same. The post was only for a year to cover the maternity leave, but some days Lucy felt like it was going to last an eternity.

She could hear the approach of several loud children’s voices from the hallway, and turned to log in to the computer, smiling at Carrie as she breezed past her.

‘Right, that’s me up, Lucy,’ she said, reaching for a book on the counter. ‘Wish me luck.’