Page 72 of Falling for Keeps

“I feel better already. Maybe we can exchange numbers and get the girls together sometime. Molly plays with Stephanie Bauer a lot, and I think the three of them would have fun.”

“Sure, that would be great.” My nerves dance, though. Anticipation for my kid is high up there. I want her to make friends and this mom seems great. But this stage of forming relationships is always slow and rocky. I hope we’re putting our eggs in the right basket, but you never know at the beginning.

A pretty young woman with dark hair is sitting at the front desk, chewing gum and looking at her phone. Penny has run off with Molly somewhere, so I approach the desk. “Hi.”

The woman looks up, then slowly sets her phone on the desk. “Hi, Dr. Price. I’m Maggie.”

Well, that’s weird. My smile doesn’t falter, but it’s always trippy having people know who you are when you don’t know them. How much does she know about my situation, about Jen and my divorce, about how I gave up everything to move back in with my mom?

“Your face is right here,” Maggie explains, pointing to the jugs holding change and green dollar bills. They’re lined up on the floor, three in a row, sporting pictures of James Carver, Sadie Stevenson, and me. They look terrifyingly equal right now. “Don’t worry, Dr. Price. It’s impossible to predict who’s going to win merely from looking at them.”

I pull out my wallet and drop cash into James’s and Sadie’s jugs anyway. If I’m going to be kissing anything tomorrow night, I’d rather it not be a pig. “I need to open a library card for my daughter.”

“I can help you with that. You only need one card per household, so you can use it, too.”

How quaint of her to think I plan on using it as well. I’m not anti-reading…I just don’t do it for fun.

Maggie lists the necessary documents, which I don’t have quite yet. All the bills are in my mom’s name, so proof of residency is proving tricky.

Emma slides behind the desk. “I can vouch for him.”

Maggie blinks at her.

“We’re neighbors,” Emma says. “Besides, I think running his business across the street is good enough for the county requirements, don’t you?”

Maggie shrugs, a faint look of annoyance on her face.

Emma leans over and types something into the computer, then pulls a stack of library cards from a drawer. “Choose one.”

There’s a card on top, clearly designed by a kid, that has all sorts of animals on it. I instinctively know Penny would want that one. I tap it with my forefinger.

“That’s the favorite around here.” She scans it, then types something else into the computer. “It was a kid’s drawing contest in the county, and we got a lot of cute submissions. Okay, there you go. You’re all set.”

I take the card and pull out my keys, snapping off the keyring-sized one and slipping it in place.

“If you want to find Penny and meet me in the back, I’ll pull out those books I told you about.”

“She’ll be super happy. Thanks, Emma.”

She nods, slipping out from behind the desk. Maggie looks between us, eyes narrowing, but I ignore her. I’ve gotten good at ignoring things lately: people who want details on my divorce, my dad guilt, the way I feel about Emma.

What’s one more thing?

Emma

The stack of books I hid away for Penny is right where I left it in the sorting room. I carry them into the main library, where Carson and Penny are waiting for me. She gasps, eyes lighting up. “These look amazing.”

“Have you read the Cupcake Diaries? They’ll hold you over until that Paris book comes in, I think.”

“Not yet.” Penny flips through the stack. “Can I take all of them?”

“Sure.” The glow permeates me, filling every crevice with that sense of accomplishment that follows anytime I make the right recommendation to the right person. I glance at Carson, surprised to find his smile on me. My warm feeling only radiates.

“Dad, can you hold them? I want to find Molly.”

“Molly?” I ask. “Is this the girl who sat by you at lunch?”

Penny practically bounces, her energy buzzing. “Yes! I asked her if I could play with her at recess and now we’re friends.”