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“Really?” I can’t keep the surprise from my voice. “It wasn’t stressful?”
“Stressful? Really, Liam!” She laughs. “I was literally sitting around all day. I didn’t do anything stressful. Plus, the lunch was super amazing. That grilled chicken salad.” She punctuates her sentence with a chef’s kiss.
I reach over and squeeze her hand. “I'm glad you had a good time. Thank you for coming with me.”
“I loved watching you with the kids.” She looks out the window and watches the mountain landscape pass by.
A sliver of regret flashes through me. Having her with me today while I taught the kids brought back memories of the plans we made as teenagers. The plans of our family and our kids. Today, so much is different, and yet so much feels the same. The truth slams into my chest as I realize I still want that dream.
“You were amazing with them,” she says quietly. I wonder if she remembers the family we planned.
“You were!” I counter. “Knowing how impatient you are, I was surprised at the way you handled their curiosity about us.”
Penny sits up, her teasing gaze still on me. “You know I deal with kids all the time, right? I’ve gotten used to their antics.”
I look away from the street ahead to glance at her for a moment. “You deal with kids? Where?”
“At the library.”
“Really?” I arch an eyebrow and cock my head.
“Yup. I created a reading group for kids at the library. It’s been ongoing for years now.” I can hear the excitement in her voice as she tells me about it. “We usually have around thirty kids who come together for an in-person reading session.”
“That sounds amazing. Can I join?”
I don’t look at her, but I can feel her amusement at my question. “We don’t want adults. Just kids.”
“Ouch!” I glance in her direction and see the teasing glint in her eyes.
“So, how does the reading group thing work?”
Penny lights up like a Christmas tree, and my heart slams against my chest.
“Every month, we put in a few books and have a vote. Whichever book has the most votes is the book that we read.”
“Sounds fun.”
“It is.” The excitement in her voice as she talks about her job continues to warm me. “It’s even more enjoyable when the kids arrive at our session with lots of questions about the story or the new words that they learned. We spend a ton of time just understanding what they discovered.”
“I see how that can be gratifying. Why don’t you organize one for adults?”
She sighs. “This is going to sound horrible, but I really much rather prefer the kids to the adults.”
“Horrible indeed,” I burst out laughing and she gives me a sheepish grin.
“For the adults, we recommend a book of the month, and they organize a time to get together to talk it over.”
“That’s actually a great idea. What’s your current book of the month?”
“For the adults?” Her brows arch. “Or the kids?”
“Both,” I say as I pull up to the curb in front of her house and put the car in park.
“The kids are reading Little Red Riding Hood,” she answers with a giggle. “I bet there is no way you’ll be able to guess what the adults are reading.”
“We both know I don’t really know books, so I’m positive I’ll never guess.” I turn in my seat to face her a bit more directly. I let my eyes roam over her face.
“Come on, try,” she taps my arm.
