This wasn’t going to be easy. Alice was good at a lot of things, but lying wasn’t one of them. Although, technically, it wasn’t a lie. She was seeing Beau. Twice a week. For reading lessons.
She could answer truthfully while withholding that last part, which was technically lying by omission, but she wasn’t in the mood for technicalities.
“Yes, I’m seeing Beau.”
Claire eyed her warily, and Alice blinked first. Dang it!
“How long has this been going on?” Claire asked.
Alice swallowed loudly and moved a small stack of books between her and Claire. It felt better to have a buffer. “Um, well, we just started on Saturday—”
“Well, what the heck happened last week then? Because I saw both of you at Jessica’s wedding and there was nothing going on other than the usual drooling and whatnot.”
Alice gasped. “The usual drooling and whatnot?”
Claire waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, please. You and Beau have always been gooey around each other.”
“Gooey? What does that mean? It sounds gross.”
“Y’all are weird around each other, that’s all.”
That wasn’t very specific. Alice was kind of weird and awkward at times around everyone. And Beau just acted like he always had. There was no way he was attracted to her. He flirted with everyone but her.
What could she say? Beau’s privacy—no matter how she felt about him—had to be protected.
The library door opened. Janie! Yay!
“Well, well, well. Look who took my advice and got busy.”
That did not sound like Janie. It sounded like somebody with blue hair.
“Howdy, Carmen,” Claire said. “What brings you to the library?”
Carmen leaned on the counter. “Gossip.”
“Did you hear Beau and Alice are seeing each other?” Claire asked.
“Yes. And I take full responsibility.”
The library door opened again, followed by a clunking sound. “Oh my God, Alice! I hear you have a date for my wedding!”
Everyone ran to assist Brittany, who was on crutches and wearing a boot bedazzled with rhinestones. As soon as she was settled, the door opened again. “Good morning,” called Janie.
Janie wasn’t a gossip. And she wasn’t in a bunch of ladies’ clubs. Maybe she hadn’t heard anything. In fact, maybe not that many people were talking about Alice and Beau at all. Maybe it was literally just Claire and Carmen and Brittany.
“What’s this I hear about you and Beau Montgomery?” Janie said.
Dang it. “Where did you hear about that?”
“At the Pump ’n’ Go this morning.”
“From who?”
“Anna Vasquez. She heard it from Trista Larson, who heard it from—”
“Sally Larson, who heard it from Dolly at the Catholic Daughters meeting,” Alice said.
The library door opened again, and Miss Mills lumbered in. “Good morning,” she said cheerfully.
“Miss Mills, you’re not scheduled to volunteer today.”
“The Good Lord whispered in my ear that the library might need my help, so here I am. Also, Alice, I hope what I heard at church isn’t true.”
Good grief. Alice was suspicious that the Good Lord didn’t really think the library needed help today.
“I’m sure all you heard at church was how much Jesus loves you and how you shouldn’t judge,” Claire said. “Because good Christian women wouldn’t have been gossiping about Beau and Alice hooking up.”
Miss Mills dropped her keys in her purse and pulled out a book. “Someone’s got some sass this morning,” she said, tossing a glance at Claire. “And Alice, Beau Montgomery gets around. He goes from woman to woman like a bee in a flower garden, and honestly, I thought you had more sense.”
“I’m responsible for the meet-cute,” Carmen said. “I want full credit.”
Brittany plunked her booted foot on the counter. “Oh? How?”
“Alice didn’t want to go to the wedding with your uncle, so I told her to ask Beau. And apparently, she did. And then other things seemingly happened. Things about which I need to know every single detail.”
What could Alice say? She glanced at Claire, who still had that eyebrow raised.
“What’s wrong with my uncle?” Brittany asked.
“Not a thing,” Alice said politely. “Beau and I enjoy each other’s company. That’s all there is to it.” Surprisingly, that wasn’t even a lie. She’d enjoyed their tutoring session.
“Since when?” Claire asked.
“Since recently.”
“I just don’t see how an experienced man like Beau would be able to control himself around a woman of virtue, such as yourself,” Miss Mills said. “It’s not a good match.”
Claire snorted.
Alice opened the book on top of the stack in front of her. “Virtue has to do with adherence to moral standards, and I do not judge people’s morality by how many adults they choose to have consensual sex with.”
Claire snorted again, probably because she knew the effect these words would have on Miss Mills.
“Goodness!” Miss Mills said. “Alice, I would expect better moral standards from a librarian.”
Carmen nodded her head vigorously, as if she agreed with Miss Mills. She then faked a pouty frown and brushed one index finger over the other, as if to say Shame on you.
“And Claire,” Miss Mills continued. “You need to see a doctor. You sound like a pig clearing its sinuses.”
Claire snorted loudly and then covered her mouth with her hand. “Sorry. That one just slipped out.”
“Your generation doesn’t understand the notion of behaving like ladies.”
“There is no one way that ladies should behave,” said Alice. “As for men being unable to control themselves around women of virtue, I say that’s hooey.”
“Miss Mills made Alice say hooey,” Brittany said.
The library door opened again. Alice crossed her fingers and hoped for an emergency that only a librarian could handle . . .
But it was just Maggie, carrying two-year-old Maisy on her hip while pushing a gigantic empty stroller. “Hey, y’all! I hear Beau knocked up Alice!”
Miss Mills began frantically fanning herself with her daily devotional. “That didn’t take long.”
Claire dropped her head to her arms and started laughing in earnest.
“You did not hear that!” Alice said to Maggie. “Take it back.”
“Oh, but I did hear it.”
“Where?”
“At the drugstore. Carol Hawker was in there buying vaginal lubricant because she’s going through menopause—”
Miss Mills dropped her ten-ton purse, making everyone
