The Librarian Spy(103)
Ava beamed and picked it up.
“Did you hear about Sims’s boy?” Peggy asked in a hushed whisper.
Ava’s own excitement dimmed at the solemn tone, and she shook her head.
The corner of Peggy’s mouth turned downward. “He’s gone.”
Ava sucked in a shocked breath.
“So maybe keep your letter under wraps.” Peggy lifted a shoulder. “Just to be kind.”
“Of course.” Ava slid the letter with the unmistakable V in red off her desk and glanced toward the closed office door where Mr. Sims’s voice boomed behind it.
He was staying later at the office and scarcely took a lunch the last week. She had assumed his redoubled efforts were to wrap up loose ends before their departure. Now, she saw the assiduous efforts for the deflection they were.
She read her letter quietly, unable to help her gratitude that Daniel had remained safe. But it was Mr. Sims she thought of as she sifted through the paperwork on her desk to determine what was needed and what should be destroyed.
The last convivial lunch at the office was with Mike and the ASLIB boys to bid a final farewell. Any hopes James would be in attendance were immediately dashed at the four-person table without another chair waiting for an unassumingly debonair Englishman with the slightest hint of a limp.
She suppressed her disappointment and together with Theo and Alfie, she and Mike feasted on an assortment of Lisbon’s best foods: greasy, spiced sausage and grilled fish and briny sardines on hard bits of bread. But before a round of Super Bock could be ordered, Ava took up her purse and excused herself to return to the office.
“You’re going back there?” Mike asked, incredulous. “I’m done with that place.”
Ava shook her head with a laugh. “I have one last drawer to clean out.”
“Suit yourself.” He held open an arm toward her. “Bring it here, kid.”
She stepped into the hug. “You do know I’m around the same age as you.”
“Yeah.” He grinned. “I know.”
“Viel Glück,” she said, wishing him luck in Swiss. She had spent a week studying it as she vacillated over her decision before finally turning the offer down.
Mike’s brow crinkled. “Huh?”
“It’s Swiss,” she laughed.
“Yeah, I knew that.” He offered a reassuring nod and clapped her on the shoulder. “Let me know if you ever want to come join me. It’d be great to work with you again.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” She embraced Alfie and Theo before taking her departure, refusing to think of James as she did so.
Back at the office, she didn’t last long before the heavy meal in her stomach left her eyelids feeling leaden. She pushed up from her seat and made her way to the back room where a pot of restorative coffee was always at the ready.
Her heels clicked over the glossy floor as she turned the corner and stopped short. Mr. Sims stood near the coffeepot, his large hand braced on the vanilla speckled Formica countertop, his head bowed.
This was clearly a moment of a man needing his privacy and yet Ava could not bring herself to leave.
“Mr. Sims,” she said softly.
He straightened and cleared his throat, opening his mouth to speak before closing it again only to shake his head. His gaze slid away. And then his chin trembled.
Ava said nothing but strode over to him and opened her arms. He sagged against her, his breath warm where he sniffled against her shoulder and the bulk of his large body trembled with the power of his grief. He stayed there for a long moment, clinging to her the way Noah did when he would wake from a nap after a nightmare.
There was something so humbling about witnessing such a proud man forced to bend under the weight of loss. She knew the burden well and wouldn’t wish it upon anyone.
“I’m so sorry,” she said gently.
“He always wanted to make me proud,” Mr. Sims said raggedly.
“You’ve never been anything less,” Ava offered in reassurance. “He knew that.”
The older man straightened, his eyes bloodshot and his nose red. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and gave her a grateful nod. “Don’t you have a desk to finish cleaning out, Harper?” His question lacked its usual sharpness. “You know you won’t get paid extra.”
“Yes, sir, I do.” She turned, leaving him to recover in peace.
It didn’t take long to sift through one final stack of papers. When she was done, she handed the box to be destroyed to Peggy.
“I’ll be joining you in DC sooner than later,” the secretary said. “I expect you to show me around all the good dance halls and jazz clubs.”
Ava chuckled. “I’m not sure how adept I’ll be at that, but I can give you a personal tour of the Library of Congress.”
“I’ll take it.” Peggy beamed and gave her one final hug. “Have a safe flight.”
Once upon a time, Ava would have shuddered at the mention of flying. Though she still didn’t relish the idea, it didn’t terrify her anymore. In the last year and a half, she had been trailed by the PVDE, stalked by a Nazi, and duped by a spy. Daniel had jumped out of planes on a beach in Normandy and fought for his life. Even more powerful was what she had witnessed of others in her time in Portugal.
She had seen people subjected to endless waits for visas they were never granted, suffer from delayed ships that started the abysmal process over again, and even people who were cheated out of their life savings in a desperate bid to book passage from Lisbon. Only the extremely wealthy could afford seats on the plane she would be boarding the next morning. The letters she had salvaged spoke of the Nazis’ unimaginable brutality, as had the stories she’d heard. Yet so many had endured, resilient and brave as they left their lives behind to save their families. And, as she so often did, she thought of Otto whose barred entry from her homeland had been so great, he could not bring himself to continue on even one more day.