“Probably not,” Lexi shoveled the last of her lunch into her mouth.
April wasn’t that upset, not really. Christie had been nice, and they had a lot in common, but there were no sparks between them. What bothered April was that this was just the latest in a string of short relationships that had fizzled out, mostly because of personality clashes. April, as one of her exes put it, was “strong-willed”. She was pretty sure that meant that she was hard to get along with.
April sighed. She was twenty-eight now. She knew that it was silly, but she was beginning to feel like she was doomed to spend the rest of her life alone. All her friends were pairing off and getting married, then moving away to start new lives, and April was being left behind.
“We should head back,” April said. Their lunch hour was almost over.
“Yes, boss,” Lexi said.
Waving goodbye to the cook, April and Lexi left the diner. It was a short walk from the library where they both worked, so they went there regularly for lunch. The diner had been there for as long as April could remember, and it was one of the few remaining local, family-run businesses in the area. But with rent prices going up as they were, April wondered how much longer the diner would last.
April and Lexi made their way back to work, chatting as they walked. Their workplace, the Oakmont Street Library, was just a few blocks away. The library was more than a library. It doubled as a community center and a meeting place for everyone who lived in this part of the city.
April was the library’s director, but only for the last few months. She’d worked at the library for years and had been promoted to the top spot after the old director’s sudden resignation. The timing couldn’t have been worse. As soon as April had taken over, all of Oakmont Street, including the library and the surrounding apartments, had been bought by a multinational property development company. Oasis Developments had big plans for Oakmont Street. And those plans didn’t involve leaving the library standing.
Lexi and April reached the library and headed to their small shared office in the back. Lexi was the library’s event coordinator, which had been April’s position before her promotion. The two of them, along with a few others, made up a bare-bones staff that barely kept the place running. Somehow, the library scraped by despite all the funding cuts.
But now, its time was running out.
April picked up the bundle of mail that had been left on her desk and flicked through it. She reached an envelope with a familiar logo. Her heart stopped.
It was a letter from Oasis Developments.
Ever since Oasis bought the building, April had been trying to get in touch with them to talk about the library, but all of her phone calls and emails had been ignored. This was the only piece of correspondence the library had received from Oasis in months.
April ripped open the letter and scanned the page. Her stomach sank.
“Everything okay, April?” Lexi asked.
“It’s from Oasis. We have 90 days to vacate the building.” April collapsed into her chair. She’d known this was coming since Oasis bought the building. The city didn’t have the funds to relocate the library, so they were on their own. Unless April could come up with a way to save it, the library would be forced to close its doors. “It’s official. This is really happening.”
Lexi placed a hand on April’s arm. “Sorry, April. I know how much this place means to you.”
The library was special to April, for reasons that ran deeper than the fact that she worked here. It was her library. She’d always thought of it as hers, even before she became director, even before she started working here as a page in high school.
“They can’t just tear it down,” April said. “Half of West Heights has already been torn down by developers. Soon there’s not going to be anything left.” April dropped the letter onto her desk. “It feels like everything is changing so fast, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.”
“I know,” Lexi said. “It sucks.”
April sighed.
“Do you know what would cheer you up?”
April raised an eyebrow. “Does it involve getting drunk?” That was usually Lexi’s go-to suggestion.
“No,” Lexi said, feigning offense. “Well, yes, it involves alcohol, but that’s not the point.” She sat down in her chair and rolled it over to April’s desk. “Come to The Sapphire Room with me tonight.”
April groaned. The Sapphire Room was the city’s lesbian bar. April hadn’t been there in years. Lexi, however, went there on a regular basis, usually to pick up women.
“Come on,” Lexi said. “It’ll be fun. And you never know, you might meet someone.”
“I’ve had enough of relationships for a while. I’m not looking to start another.”
“Who said anything about a relationship?” Lexi asked. “Nothing like a mindless one-night stand to help you forget about all your problems.”
“I don’t know,” April said. “That’s not my thing.”
“Come on, it’ll be fun. I’ll be your wing-woman.?