Five Minutes Late (7 page)

“Not much. But you know I enjoy my work.”

“Yes and that’s good, but you need things outside of work, you know that. You may want to consider doing some volunteering. Even pickup tennis again.”

“Funny you mention it, tennis has been on my mind.”

“Do it then. Look, we have to wrap this up, but what I can leave you with is this: focus on things that will enhance your life. Focus on the positive things you love. It wouldn’t hurt picking up a book at the library, something on positivity maybe, or gratitude. Swing by and do yourself a favor. They may even need some volunteers over there for something. Kill two birds …”

Cedric hadn’t been to the library in years. He had wonderful memories with his mom there. Great idea.

“Sounds like a plan.” Cedric stood up and hugged him. “Thanks, man.”

“You bet.”

“What do I owe you?”

Michael laughed. “Another round of golf?”

“You got it. How many rounds do I owe you now?”

“Six.” He grinned. “But who’s counting?”

Chapter Six

Cedric couldn’t remember the last time he’d set foot in the library, but he loved the feeling, surrounded by all of those books. He developed a love and appreciation for books at an early age and that helped him do well in school. He’s read hundreds and hundreds of books and even has a room in his house dedicated to just books.
 

“Can I help you?” asked the impeccably dressed male clerk with a nametag that said Julio Cruz.

“Yeah, do you have any volunteer opportunities?”

“Yes, I think we do. You need to talk with Her Highness, Miss Peggy Fleming, the Branch Manager.”
 

“Peggy—”

“Obviously she’s not the Olympic ice skating champion Peggy Fleming, although she does kind of look like her. Anyway, she’s in charge of the volunteer programs and pretty much everything else under this hot tin roof.” Julio pointed to the woman at the desk with the giant globe. “That’s her over there sitting with her back to us, wearing the lovely two-piece Jaclyn Smith ensemble.”

“Great, thanks.” Cedric wondered if he’d ever heard a man use the words “a lovely two-piece Jaclyn Smith ensemble.”

He approached Peggy and cleared his throat.

Peggy swung around and popped out of her seat like a Jack-in-the-box. “Hello!”

Cedric was pretty sure she had enough energy to power all of the casinos in Las Vegas. Impressive, considering she must have been right around sixty or sixty-five years old. Her clothes and makeup were perfect, and she had a Jiffy Pop hairdo that defied gravity. She did look like
the
Peggy Fleming. Was she trying to make herself look like the woman on purpose or was it just a freaky coincidence? And how many Red Bulls had she had?
 

“Did you have a question?”

“I wanted to see if you had any volunteer opportunities.”

“Absolutely! Please take a seat.” She grabbed a file from the top drawer of her desk as Cedric sat down and contemplated her energy level.
 

She handed Cedric the list of jobs. “This is what we have at the moment. There are two great opportunities that involve children. How are you with reading?”

“The font’s small, but I can read it just fine.” He started in on the info on the paper.

“No, no, no. I mean, would you feel comfortable reading out loud? To children?”

“Oh.” He loved the idea of reading to them. His mother used to read to him every night before he went to bed. It was one of those things he always looked forward to, and he’s pretty sure that helped him shape him into who he is today. This volunteer opportunity sounded absolutely perfect. “Sounds great.”

 
“Bless your heart.” She pointed to something on the list. “Then I think you would be perfect for the STAR program. It stands for storytelling and reading, which is just what it sounds like. You would be reading books and telling stories to children. You wouldn’t be trying to teach them to read. You’d be motivating them to want to learn to read. It would be wonderful to have a male role model since all of the readers are women.”

“Do you have some sort of training or do you just throw me into the alligator tank?”

Peggy laughed. “The training process is simple. I’ll even share techniques on how to make the stories come alive. You would need to commit to at least two hours per week for six months. A background check, fingerprinting, and TB test is required and provided by the library.”

“Two hours doesn’t seem like much.”

“Each reading is thirty minutes, so it’s not too much of a commitment.”

“Count me in.” Cedric was excited about the chance to be involved. “I’d love to be a part of it.”

“Fantastic! I’m Peggy, by the way. Peggy Fleming.”

“Cedric Johnson. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too!” She pointed to the paper again. “Just go to this website here and fill out the online application and we’ll be in touch soon. Training for new volunteers is required, and we could start that next week, if you’d like.”

“I don’t think it’ll be a problem. While I’m here, can you tell me if you have books on positivity or gratitude?
 

“Absolutely! We even have some on meditation and yoga. In fact, I’m part of a meditation group if you’d like to join us sometime.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he said, wondering how difficult it was for Lady Red Bull to meditate. “And the books?”

“Oh, of course.” She pointed to a row of books. “You can find them over there in our nonfiction section. I’ll send someone over there to help you, if you’d like.”

“That sounds great, thank you.”

“Thank
you.
I’m here if you need anything else.”

Cedric wandered over to nonfiction and browsed through books from Deepak Chopra,
Eckhart Tolle,
and the Dalai Lama. All of the Chicken Soup books were there. A bright green book caught his eye.
 

He leaned in to grab it and heard a female voice. “Probably not the best choice.”

Cedric felt a chill run through his body. He had memorized that angelic voice; it was tattooed on his brain.
 

Ellie.

He turned around. “Why is that?”

Judging by the dazed look on her face, she was obviously surprised to see him too. “Oh … Cedric.”

“In the flesh … Ellie.”

They engaged in an impromptu staring contest, not a word spoken, but Cedric lost when he blinked after his eyes started to burn. “So …”

“So …”

“What would you recommend for me?”

Ellie squished her eyebrows together. “What would I recommend for you?”

“Yeah.” He held up the book. “You said this was not a good choice.”

“Oh! Right. There are much better options.” She giggled. “Besides, you probably only picked it because of the color.”

Cedric stood there a moment, in awe of the woman who knew him so well. “You are so wrong,” he lied.

She smirked. “Is that right?”

“I picked it because of the font. Times New Roman is like an aphrodisiac to me.” He pretended to loosen his collar. “Is it hot in here?”

“Did you follow me?”

“I was getting ready to ask you the same thing.”

“Yeah, but,
I
was here first. Unless you think I anticipated you coming here, quickly applied for a job, was hired, and waited until you showed up.”

Cedric laughed. “You … are very cool.”

He saw Ellie blush, which made her even more beautiful. Her eyes had some type of a force field that sucked him in.
 

My name is Cedric and I will be your love slave. Take me,
I’m yours.

“Let me know when you’re back with me here. I can wait.”

“Coffee,” Cedric blurted out.

“Pardon me?”

“Coffee is good.”

God. His attempt at asking her out was pathetic.
 

She had a certain look on her face. How would you describe it? Like someone who was at a museum looking at a painting and trying to figure out what the hell it was. Either that or she had a sudden bout of constipation.

“Was that a statement or a question?” she asked.

He knew he needed to ask her out quickly, before the voices returned. “Neither. Both.”

Crap.

She stared at him and had to be thinking he was an idiot.

Obviously she must have felt the uncomfortable silence between his acts of stupidity, because she pulled a book from the shelf and handed it to him. “This is a great book. I highly recommend it.”

Cedric analyzed the cover. “
Excuses Begone
by Wayne Dyer.” Cedric turned the book over to see the back cover and then flipped through a few pages.
 

Ellie pointed to the book. “You don’t have an excuse not to read it.”

Cedric read the title again, closed the book, and grinned. “Clever.”
 

She smiled. “I try.”

“The font isn’t the most exciting, but the book looks interesting. I’ll check it out. Literally.”

“Let me know if you need anything else.” She turned to leave.

“Hey.” Cedric took his eyes off her ass before she caught him, but holy hell, it was a work of art that belonged in the Guggenheim Museum.
 

She stopped and turned around, but didn’t answer.
 

Cedric’s heart raced and he forced a smile to try and hide his jitters. “Let me buy you a cup of coffee … to show my appreciation.”

“So, now we’re back to the coffee again, are we?”

Cedric nodded. “It’s the least I can do.”

“For finding you the book?”

“For saving my life.”

“Uh huh …”

“We can go to the Starbucks on the corner.”
 

“I just got here and I need to at least work for a couple of hours before I can take a break.”

“Not a problem.” He raised the book and smiled. “I have Wayne Dyer to keep me company. I’ll just find a seat and you can let me know when you are ready.”
 

*****

Three hours later at Starbucks, Cedric and Ellie grabbed their drinks and chose a table near the window overlooking Lincoln Avenue. Cedric immediately noticed an older man eating a scone. “Crap.”

Ellie sat up in her chair. “What?”

He mentally slapped himself in the head for being an idiot. “Sorry. I should have asked you if you wanted a snack or something to go with that coffee. Can I get you something? I don’t mind getting back in line.”

“No, no. Thanks. There’s going to be some food at the library later. We’re celebrating a co-worker’s birthday today. Well, actually, it’s the Branch Manager.”

“Peggy Fleming?”
 

Ellie’s eyes widened. “Yes. You know her?”

Cedric tried to keep a straight face. “Oh yeah, we go way back.”

“Wow. Small world. How long have you known her?”

“Well, let’s see … I met her, oh, when was it? Oh, that’s right. About three and a half hours ago when I entered the library.”
 

Ellie hit Cedric playfully on the arm. “You’re bad.”

“Thanks,” he said, laughing. “Glad you noticed.”

He enjoyed the smile on Ellie’s face. She was playful and he liked that. They sat there for a few moments in silence, people-watching, exchanging smiles, sipping coffee, not saying much at all. But the silence didn’t feel uncomfortable. It was like they were just hanging out together, passing time with a good cup of coffee, without a care in the world. It felt good.
 

No. It felt great.
 

Cedric took another sip of his coffee. “So.”

“So.”

“You’re a librarian.”

Ellie nodded. “For the last eight years.”

“Very cool. What do you like about it?”

“Hmm. Well, for starters, no two days are alike. One moment I’m helping a child with a picture book, or a senior citizen with a hobby, and the next I’m showing someone tools for learning a new language. I like helping people find answers.”

Cedric smiled again and nodded. “Did you always know you wanted to be a librarian?”

Ellie shrugged. “I was a total bookworm in middle school and high school. But I think it was when I became a library aide in my junior year of high school that I was pretty sure my career would have something to do with books. There was one point when I was reading a book a day.”

“You must have a lot of information stored underneath that wild hair of yours.”

Ellie blushed. “I know a few things.”

“Who was the first person to walk on the moon?”

Ellie sighed. “Seriously? If you are going to try to stump me, you need to come at me with something better than a fifth-grade question.”

“So, you don’t know?”

“Neil Armstrong.”

“Correct … and you’re right, that was too easy. You must be good at Trivial Pursuit.”

“They hired me as a consultant for their Book Lovers Edition.”

Cedric blinked.

She smiled. “You don’t believe me? Try me.”

Cedric sat up and rubbed his hands together. “When was the civil war?”

“Which one?”

“Very good.” Cedric laughed. “American.”

“1861 to 1865.”

“The Spanish?”

“1936 to 1939. Look, I appreciate the effort, but I can answer these questions with ninety-nine percent of my brain cells tied behind my back.”

“Is that right?”
 

She nodded. “Got anything else more … stimulating?”

Cedric grinned. “Of course. Stimulation is my expertise.”

Okay. He couldn’t believe he said that. What was he thinking?

“Well then, give it to me.”

Cedric smiled. “Scientific name for garlic?”

“Allium sutivum.”

He made the sound of a buzzer. “Nice try, but that’s incorrect.”

“No it’s not.”

“It’s allium
sa
tivum.”

“Oh come on, close enough.”

“Sorry.”

“You got a thing for garlic?”

“I guess you could say that.” Cedric took a sip of his coffee, feeling much more confident about things. “What’s the world record for the longest kiss?”

Ellie hesitated and bit her lower lip. Why the hell did she have to do that? Now he was looking at her mouth again.
 

“Are you making up this question?”