I went through to the living room. Maggie was standing with her back to the door. When she turned around I thought I was going to spontaneously combust. She was cradling the red merle puppy in her arms.
‘Penny!’ I dashed forwards and she handed me the dog. Penny had grown loads since I’d last seen her. ‘But I thought she’d been sold to some farmer up north?’ That was what Savage had told me.
‘I’m afraid you were right, Tom. She’s deaf. Completely deaf in one ear and not great in the other one. She’s no good as a sheepdog. Savage told me. Well, he was moaning that the farmer who bought her wanted his money back and that the dog was going to the rescue. I said I’d give him half what the farmer paid so here she is.’
‘She’s awesome.’ I heard the wobble in my own voice. Penny was more beautiful than I remembered. Her blue eyes looked at me like I was the coolest person in the world. I turned to show her to Dad but it was tricky because she was licking my face. ‘Isn’t she gorgeous, Dad?’
Dad was frowning. ‘And you get that she’s living here?’ he asked.
‘Yes,’ I said.
‘But I’ll need to keep the Monday to Friday arrangement with Tom for puppy training purposes, if that’s okay with you both?’ said Maggie, with a wink. What was going on? Had she already spoken to Dad about this? I was definitely missing something.
I froze. This was what I wanted more than anything. I loved my dad, of course I did, but I couldn’t stand being in the house on my own. I hated being lonely. But I’d never told Dad and now I wished I had.
‘Is this what you want?’ Dad asked me.
I nodded. ‘If it’s all right with you.’ I held my breath.
Dad’s expression was hard to read. He looked from me to Maggie and then back again like he was weighing things up. ‘Sure. Why not?’
‘Excellent!’ said Maggie clapping her hands together. ‘It’ll be hard work, mind. She’ll take some training. She’s not your run-of-the-mill dog. Not just because of the deafness but she’s a bit quirky with a mind of her own.’
‘I know,’ I said. ‘That’s what I love most about her.’ I put the puppy down and turned to Maggie. The sparkle in her eyes could attract a magpie. A chance encounter at the library had changed so many things. I was now a proper bookworm. I’d loved all the books I’d been lost in and all the characters I’d shared ups and downs with but what I’d got most from the library was my friendship with Maggie. She’d taught me loads about life, about myself and how to fight for what I wanted. She was my hero. ‘Hug?’ I said. ‘You know. Only if you want to.’
I’d hardly finished the sentence before Maggie was pulling both me and my dad into her arms. At that moment we almost felt like a family – an odd, dysfunctional one, but it felt good all the same. ‘Right,’ she said, pulling away and briskly wiping under her eyes. ‘Who wants something to eat?’
EPILOGUE
Five weeks later
Maggie and Christine had been planning a bit of a do. It was partly to show off the new mobile library van and partly to say thank you to everyone who had supported the efforts to save the library. It was the last Saturday in September and the sun was shining, which was causing an issue for the iced cakes the WI had made. Although given the hordes of people, they weren’t going to need to last long. Maggie shooed a few of them into a more orderly tea queue.
Christine was looking smart in her new suit. She had taken it upon herself to adopt the title of senior librarian as she was by default the only full-time member of staff left in the area. It seemed to have given her a renewed enthusiasm for her job and she had taken on her new role with gusto. The library was thriving and the original Save the Library committee had morphed into an ongoing forum to keep the ideas fresh. Christine was very much leading it.
Maggie and Tom had settled into part-time volunteer roles and were leading lights in the book club. Farah led the children’s section and would be partly responsible for restocking the mobile library and managing orders that came in from its rounds.
‘Where’s the blooming van?’ said Maggie. Tom looked nervously at his phone.
‘It’ll be here,’ said Farah, eyeing them both. ‘Wait till you see the paintwork; it’s awesome.’ Farah was rocking on her heels.
As if on cue a cheer went up from the crowd as the brightly painted van pulled up opposite. The van featured a beautiful design depicting books flying out of an open window like birds taking flight and it created a buzz in the crowd.
They all posed for photographs in front of the mobile library and the new venture was toasted with tea and cake and a lot of mutual congratulations. Inside it was just as impressive. Tom and Farah proudly showed off the romance section, which they had worked on together.
Once people had gathered outside Christine clapped her hands and everyone turned in her direction.
‘I want…’ Her voice was a bit squeaky. She cleared her throat and started again. ‘I wanted to say thank you to everyone for all you did to save Compton Mallow library. You should all be proud and we hope to see you all on a regular basis so that we can stay open…’ There were a few calls of hear, hear. ‘And I wanted to say a special thank you to… well… someone very special for everything they did: Maggie Mann.’
‘Oh, it was nothing,’ said Maggie, but Christine beckoned her over to stand next to her.
‘No, it wasn’t,’ said Christine. ‘I would have given up if it hadn’t been for you. So I… well we…’ She turned to glance at Farah and Tom who were standing nearby looking shifty. ‘We wanted to say a proper thank you for all your help in saving the library.’
Farah rummaged under the cake table behind her and produced a large basket of flowers and she and Tom handed them to Maggie. ‘My goodness,’ she said feeling touched by the thought. ‘You didn’t need to. I mean I love a good fight…’
‘Don’t I know it,’ said Tom. He was getting cheekier by the day.
‘Speech!’ called out Bill.
Maggie addressed the crowd. ‘This village library has always had a place in my heart. Books are such an underrated essential. Every book is a key that unlocks another world, leads us down the path of a different life and offers the chance to explore an unexpected adventure. Every one is a gift of either knowledge, entertainment or pure escapism and goodness knows we all need that from time to time. Like the rest of you, I always thought the library would be here. I never expected it to be under threat. It’s a stark reminder to not take anything in life for granted. You only properly start fighting for something when you realise you’re going to lose it.’ She sighed thoughtfully. ‘Anyway, if truth be told, I was saving the library for myself as much as the community. Quite selfish really.’
‘Not at all. That’s something you’re not,’ said Christine. ‘Thank you, Maggie.’
The crowd applauded and there were air kisses and brief hugs. Maggie studied the basket of flowers. ‘This is truly lovely. I’ve no idea how I’ll get it home on the bus. But I love a challenge.’
When the excitement had died down and the cake had been eaten people started to make their farewells and disappear.
‘Maggie?’ said Tom, pulling her to one side.
‘I suppose you were in on this,’ she said pointing at the flowers.
‘Er, yeah. And there’s something else.’ He bit his lip and the gesture made her instantly concerned. ‘I did a bit of googling. And, well, there aren’t many dentists in Kent called Haseley.’
‘Tom…’ Maggie swallowed hard. ‘What have you done?’
‘I sent an email,’ he said. Maggie’s shoulders dropped. ‘I know it was none of my business but I figured if I told him what you’d done for me then maybe he’d get an idea of what a sound person you are and…’ Tom was looking glassy-eyed.
‘It’s okay,’ said Maggie, anticipating that he’d received a similar response to hers. ‘I appreciate that you tried, Tom. That means a lot. But now we need to draw a line under it and move on.’ She forced a smile. ‘Okay?’
Tom’s lips twitched. ‘Thing is. I told him it’d be best to see for himself what other people thought of you.’ Maggie’s eyebrows knotted together. ‘And I think he took me up on that.’ Tom nodded over her shoulder.
Maggie turned slowly to follow Tom’s gaze. Most of the villagers had dispersed leaving the WI ladies and a few stragglers. But standing by the mobile library van, talking to Farah, were four people: a man, a woman and two grown-up children. Tears instantly sprang to Maggie’s eyes, blurring the sight she had longed to see. She couldn’t say she would have recognised her son because sadly she knew she would have passed him in the street and not known who he was. In fact she was fairly sure she’d shooed him out of the way earlier. But now she watched him, talking and laughing, she knew in her heart it was him.
‘River,’ she said softly.
‘Word of advice,’ said Tom. ‘You might not want to call him that.’ He beamed a grin at her as she wiped away the tears, before giving him a friendly whack on the arm.
‘Oh, Tom. I don’t know what to say. Thank you.’
‘The look on your face is all I wanted really. Come on, let’s meet your son.’
THE END
Questions for your Book Club
How significant is the library to the story?
Why is the library so important to Tom and to Maggie?
When Tom is first introduced to the reader he is described as invisible. What is your first impression of him?
The story is told from two different character viewpoints: a seventy-two-year-old woman and a sixteen-year-old boy. Do you think their judgements are typical of the way the older and younger generations view each other?
Both Tom and Maggie are lonely people and yet their lives are very different. Why do you think they are both lonely?
You learn more about the characters’ backgrounds as you read further into the novel. Did your opinion of any of them change? If so, how?
Maggie has been keeping her secret for over fifty years. Should she have told Tom the truth? Is it ever good to hide the truth?
Which character do you most admire, and why?
What do you think Maggie learned from Tom and vice versa?
What were some of the ways that they tried to save the library? What would you have done in Tom and Maggie’s position?
Acknowledgements
A whole lot of people come together to get a book published and I am thankful to everyone who has had a hand in The Library. This started as a secret project when the characters popped into my head and were a world away from the romantic comedies I was used to writing. But their stories were so strong I couldn’t ignore them so I wrote this book. At the time I didn’t know if it would ever be published but I had to tell Tom and Maggie’s story.
Huge thank you to my agent Kate Nash for not thinking I’d lost the plot when I presented her with my manuscript and for working so hard to find the right home for it. I will be forever grateful to Hannah Smith, Laura Palmer and the fabulous team at Aria for taking a chance on this project and making it the book it is today. Huge thanks also go to Lisa Brewster for the stunning cover.
Thank you to Alison May & Janet Gover for the March 2019 Writing Retreat that gave me reassurance that this was worth pursuing. Also thanks to Chris from that course for the two fingers comment. Thanks to my long-suffering writing friends who must have wondered if this book would ever see the light of day – I promise to shut up about it now.
Much love and thanks to David and Rosemary Boulton for lovely discussions over lunch about life on a smallholding and for being fabulous early beta readers. Thanks to Ryan Nurse, another awesome early beta reader – you’ll make an amazing editor one day very soon. Thanks to Emily Davis for answering my many questions about libraries and also doing a fabulous job as a beta reader.
I have to give a mention to Grandborough Farmer’s Market which is just the loveliest community and to The Lost Farm, Grandborough for introducing me to Cym.
Huge heartfelt thanks to Cym Baseley for answering so very many questions and giving me a tour of her fabulous farm, introducing me to her sheep and for letting me witness the birth of a lamb. Any errors are entirely my own.
Thanks to the National Trust and Charlecote Park for keeping a herd of Jacob sheep which was a lovely excuse to visit and eat cake, all in the name of research.
I so hope this book will be enjoyed by reading groups and I must give a shout out to all my friends at Boozy Book Club for broadening my reading choices and expanding my knowledge of wine.
A huge thank you to library staff everywhere. You do an amazing job. And lovely readers please, please, please use your local library. They need your support now more than ever. Every time you borrow a book the author receives a few pennies from Public Lending Right, so you are supporting authors too.
And finally to the booksellers, book bloggers and especially to you the readers – thanks so much for letting me do the job that I love. And if you enjoyed reading this please tell your local book group and leave a review because it may help someone else find it and enjoy it too – Thank you.
About the Author
BELLA OSBORNE has been jotting down stories as far back as she can remember but decided that 2013 would be the year that she finished a full length novel. In 2016, her debut novel, It Started at Sunset Cottage, was shortlisted for the Contemporary Romantic Novel of the Year and RNA Joan Hessayon New Writers Award.
Bella's stories are about friendship, love and coping with what life throws at you. She likes to find the humour in the darker moments of life and weaves these into her stories.
Bella believes that writing your own story really is the best fun ever, closely followed by talking, eating chocolate, drinking fizz and planning holidays.
She lives in the Midlands, UK with her lovely husband and wonderful daughter, who thankfully, both accept her as she is (with mad morning hair and a penchant for skipping).
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