The Library of Lost and Found(5)

Betty studied his face to make sure he was definitely asleep. Straining to reach up on top of the kitchen cupboard, she slid the book from its hiding place and tucked the pink-and-white paper bag under her arm.

She trod softly around her husband, and as her skirt brushed his fingers, he gave a loud snort. Betty froze on the spot, her body stiff. She deftly moved the book behind her back and held her breath, waiting.

The cuckoo clock ticked and Thomas emitted a small snore. Betty held her pose a while longer before she crept out of the room and closed the kitchen door behind her.

“Are you okay, Mum?” Martha raised her head. She lay on the rug on her stomach, scribbling down a story in her notepad.

“Of course, darling,” Betty said, with a smile. “Just trying not to wake your dad.” She stood and gazed at her two daughters for a few moments. They made her heart swell, and she marveled at how different they looked from each other.

Lilian was asleep, curled up on the chair. At four years old, she hadn’t yet outgrown her afternoon naps. Her fine blond hair shone like a halo in the afternoon sun and she had peach fuzz for skin.

Martha was the opposite. Her unruly hair never shone or lay flat, and Betty braided it into a fat plait to try to keep it under control. Four years older than Lilian, Martha loved to lose herself in reading and writing stories. Lilian was more pragmatic, like her father. She listened to fairy tales with a furrowed brow, announcing that Cinderella’s glass slippers would break if she danced in them and that mice could not turn into horses.

Betty stooped down and ran her hand down Martha’s plait, giving the end a playful tug. She slid the book out of its bag and presented it on the flats of her hands.

A smile spread across Martha’s face. “Is it for me?” she asked.

Betty nodded once and pressed a finger to her mouth. “Shhh.” She pointed toward the door, then made a pillow with her hands. She moved a cushion on the sofa and settled down, then beckoned for her daughter to join her.

Martha scrambled to her feet and nestled on the sofa, too. Betty took a few moments to relish the warmth of her hair, tucked under her chin. She ran her hand over the cover of the book and made a show of turning the front page. “Ready?” she asked and Martha nodded. The room fell still and Betty began to read.

Yet she found herself doing so in a hushed, hurried fashion. After every few lines, she flicked her eyes towards the dining room door and cocked her head, listening out for movement in the kitchen. Thomas usually napped for at least ninety minutes, but she wanted to be sure. Even though she tried to enjoy the story, she stumbled over the words.

Martha leaned her head against Betty’s shoulder. She reached out to touch the words and pictures.

Betty had just uttered, “…and they all lived happily ever after,” when the door handle creaked slowly down. Nimbly, she slipped the book under a cushion behind her and sat up to attention. The door seemed to take forever to open.

Thomas was a big man, six-feet-two and heavy-set, with black slicked-back hair that shone like tar. Fourteen years older than Betty, and just four years younger than Zelda, he had the old-fashioned look of a fifties matinee movie idol. “Now, what are my girls up to?” he asked as he entered the room. “Anything good?”

Betty felt her cheeks flush as she thought about the book. She felt a little guilty now for buying it and hiding it from him. “We’ve been doing a bit of reading, haven’t we, Martha?”

Martha nodded.

“Fantastic,” Thomas said. Raising an eyebrow, he shifted his eyes across the room before they settled on the bookcase under the window. All twenty encyclopedias sat in a line, with no gaps. He stared at them for a while before he stepped forward and circled an arm around Betty’s waist. He enveloped her into a hug, grinned and then flipped her backwards, as if they were doing a tango. Holding his face close to hers, he planted a kiss on her lips. “Have I told you how lovely you look today?”

Betty laughed, her heart fluttering at his gesture.

He pulled her upright and they smiled at each other for a moment. Then a slight frown fell upon his brow. He looked over her shoulder, reached down and took hold of the cushion on the sofa. “Oh, what’s this then?” he asked, his voice full of surprise as he moved it to one side. “Is it a new book?”

As he picked it up and studied the cover, Betty swallowed. He must have had eagle eyes to spot it there. Now she had to explain herself and her mouth grew dry. “Yes,” she said lightly. “I was going to tell you about it. It was on special offer in the bookstore, and the girls haven’t had a new storybook for a long time. It’s so beautiful and I…”

Thomas nodded. Still holding the book, he reached up and stroked her cheek. “That’s so thoughtful of you, but they only got the encyclopedias recently. They’re much better for them than this kind of nonsense. And we don’t want to spoil them, do we? Money is tight, too.” He lowered his voice. “Hmm, perhaps I could do you a favor, and take this back to the shop.”

Betty felt she couldn’t argue with his logic. When he explained things to her, about their finances, about why he didn’t want her mother to buy silly toys for the girls, he always made sense. If she ever tried to put her own point forward about anything, he listened, but ultimately, he was older and knew what was best.

With a mixture of sadness, guilt and gratitude, she handed him the pink-and-white-striped bag with the receipt inside. “Thank you,” she said quietly.