Chapter 23
MAGIC DELAYED IS MAGIC DENIED
Effie
Effie sipped her terrible library-brewed coffee, grimacing. Today, no amount of magical tweaking could transform the black concoction that came out of the machine into something drinkable. Sometimes she wondered if she was actually dealing with some sort of dark magic cauldron that had just been hexed into looking like a coffee machine. But she’d already finished the coffee she’d brought from home,andthe one she’d ordered from The Winged Monkey, and she couldn’t in all good conscience splurge on a second takeaway coffee for the day. Not even if she’d brought her lunch for a full sixty days straight, which was a personal record.
She’d spent the morning setting up the Weeded Book Sale, which had involved dragging out shelves and tables for display, and sorting out pricing and payments. The initial goal had been an honour system where people grabbed a book and popped whatever amount they thought appropriate in the change tin, but said tin had quickly got clogged up with chewing gum and CVS receipts. After she’d cleaned it out for the third time, she printed off a sign telling people to bring their books and payments to the circulation desk.
There’d also been the small matter of putting together a short video about the sale to go on the library’s social mediaaccounts. This had been by far the most challenging part of the whole ordeal, and had made Effie realize that perhaps she wasn’t the patient, even-tempered person she considered herself to be. Who knew that it took a full hour to film a ten-second video and close to that again to actually get the video cross-posted to everywhere it needed to go? And that no matter how articulate you considered yourself, it was a physical impossibility to speak into the camera without flubbing a key detail.
And then there was the choreography, but the less said about that, the better.
Oddly enough, Madame Destinée had warned that her day would involvedances with wolves (and shelves). The woman’s crystal ball certainly had a wit to it, thought Effie drily, as she handed a patron change for their used books and popped the money in the lockbox she kept behind her desk. The sale was going surprisingly well – they’d sold over a hundred books, which meant extra funds to help support the summer programs and the food pantry.
‘It’s because of your video,’ Kirsty had said, when she’d come in with Bobby to return the telescope. Effie still wasn’t used to seeing them together. It went against the narrative she’d concocted for Bobby, where he and Bonnie finally admitted their feelings for one another. Not that Effie had romance on the mind.
‘What do you mean?’ Effie had responded.
Kirsty had pulled up a screenshot showing the stats for Effie’s video. A mind-boggling number of people had watched it. Were there even that many people in town?
‘You’re trending on LibraryTok,’ Kirsty had added, sounding almost impressed. But then she’d added, ‘You know, if you’re going to trend online, it might be a good idea to update your wardrobe.’
If Effie had been Bonnie, she might have whacked Kirsty with the telescope. But instead, she’d smiled tightly andpretended to check in a stack of books on the desk. To be honest, shehadbeen thinking about going clothes shopping. Every time Theo came through the door in his neat, well-fitting outfits, Effie felt frumpy and underdressed. She was getting tired of hiding herself out of fear of being judged or teased. If Theo wanted to spend time around her, that surely meant she wasn’t some hideous abomination. Perhaps it was time to add just a touch of sartorial magic to her comfortable outfits. Just a touch. In the name of her new-found LibraryTok fame, of course.
Effie wasn’t sure what LibraryTok was, but she planned to do what she did with any new concept she was unfamiliar with: look it up. It was the librarian way, after all.
She was deep down a rabbit hole of long-form articles when a woman she recognized from a Friends of the Library paint and sip event a few months back strode up to the counter with thatI need a booklook on her face. Serena Murphy, that was it.
‘Oh hi, Bonnie’s sister.’
‘Effie,’ said Effie, trying to keep the ice from her tone. Now Bonnie was encroaching upon the library?
‘I’m looking forBattle for Hearts on Horseback.’ Serena leaned closer, adding conspiratorially: ‘I’m on a gallant romance kick. The slow burn is real when everyone’s wearing armour.’
Effie knew this well – in solidarity with Bowow, she’d read just about the entire romance catalogue, and had come to the same conclusions about the challenges of medieval clothing. The poor authors of said volumes had some serious logistical challenges to consider.
‘That one’s currently out,’ she said, frowning as she browsed the record on the system. ‘And overdue.’
Serena pouted. ‘How aboutHot Knights with Gawain?’
Effie checked. ‘Also overdue.’
‘Your Sword, My Liege?’
Effie pulled up the listing for that one. Same story. This was unusual, she thought, as she absently browsed through the overdues on her system. There’d been a sharp uptick starting a few weeks earlier, but there hadn’t been any library closures or system outages to explain it. The library didn’t charge fines – this had been one of the first things that she’d campaigned against upon taking the job – but they still discouraged people from hanging on to their books for ever. Books were like money. They were made to be circulated, not hoarded. It sounded like Effie had a book return drive to add to her endless administrative to-do list.
Perhaps Theo could help with that, she thought idly. He seemed eager to do his part, and apparently, he didn’t need a job, so he might as well do something useful with his time. Besides, Effie was starting to quite enjoy his company.
‘Would you like some other recommendations?’ asked Effie.
‘Sure,’ said Serena. ‘The more spice, the better.’
Well, then.
Effie walked Serena through some of the spicier selections on offer, digging behind the shelves and under a display table for the ones that she’d seen an apparently scandalized Mrs Brewster hide away after browsing them quite thoroughly. Mrs Brewster had made the sign of the cross before going back for seconds.
‘Banned in Australia,’ mused Serena, as she perused a well-thumbed volume with a grey and white cover and a suggestive title about sharks. ‘Must be good.’
