The Rejected Writers' Book Club (Southlea Bay) by Suzanne Kelman Read Free Book Online Page B

you.”
    My inner chambers started to shudder. I wasn’t really in the mood for another Twilight Zone episode.
    “Is it something we can talk about here?” I asked hopefully.
    Doris paused, seemingly mesmerized by a tiny copy of A Fascinating Read by Paige Turner as it swung back and forth precariously from my cape.
    “No,” she said after careful consideration, and then, grabbing hold of the swinging book, she pulled me closer to emphasize her point. “This is something that has to be handled . . . delicately.”
    She made it sound as if she were planning to give me the launch codes for a nuclear bomb.
    Reluctantly, I gave in. “I have a little time to spare between three and four, when I usually grab something to eat. But I need to be back in plenty of time to get the library ready for the kids. They’ll start arriving as early as five o’clock.”
    “Perfect. And don’t worry, I can feed you.”
    “Oh no, don’t trouble yourself. I can just grab a sandwich at the store or something.”
    The thought of eating at Doris’s again caused my insides to scream for mercy. It felt as if my blood sugar was only just returning to normal after my last visit.
    “Nonsense,” she said sternly as she waved a hand dismissively at my costume. “You can’t do all this . . . this . . . whatever it is on a store sandwich!”
    She said “store” with such fervent disapproval in her tone that I couldn’t stop myself from bursting out laughing, even though I could see she was deadly serious. Covering it up by coughing, I put my false nose back on.
    “I will expect you at three o’clock sharp,” she said.
    I tried to protest one last time, but before I could get another word out, she was already out the library door. I thought she’d gone when her head popped back in and she shouted back to me, “I’ll make pork ribs and beans. That ought to give you enough stamina for all this foolishness.”
    Then she was gone. Pork ribs and beans, God help me! I stood there, bereft and pretty sure I could hear my cardiovascular system starting to cry. Slumping back down onto the floor to finish shelving, I felt totally disheartened. Somehow, Doris had managed to take all the steam out of my day.
    As I sat, pouting and stacking, an elf popped up over the top of the shelf. It was actually my boss, Karen, wearing a three-point green felt hat with miniature silver bells hanging from the points and jangling as she bobbed her head. She was dressed in a green felt tunic with a sparkly zigzag collar, red-ribbed woolen tights, and pointy shoes. On her face, she had painted rosy red cheeks and dotted her nose with dainty brown freckles. She looked as cute as a button. But her tiny elf face appeared concerned.
    “You have a phone call from someone called Christopher?”
    Thoughtful for a moment, I followed her back toward her office.
    I’d forgotten my cell phone that morning, but no one usually ever called me at the library. Martin worked locally as a production consultant at a local engineering company. This was a break from his years in California working with the big aircraft companies that were based there. During those years, he had spent the majority of his time crawling inside aircraft to make sure their equipment was up to FAA standards. Now, on the island, he had a more flexible and easy schedule and always just dropped by if he needed something.
    Karen politely excused herself and closed the door as I picked up the telephone.
    “Hello, this is Janet Johnson.”
    The voice that came back was tense, and there was a lot of background noise, as if the person were calling from a busy street. A strained voice filtered through. “Janet, it’s Christopher.”
    I sat down hard and caught my breath. It was Stacy’s husband. He’d never ever called me at work before and calling himself Christopher instead of Chris had thrown me. Something was wrong.
    “Oh, hello, Chris. Is everything okay?”
    “Not really. I’m here at the