The Bicycle Book Club by Jessie Newton

Author:Jessie Newton [Newton, Jessie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: AEJ Creative Works

Chapter Seventeen

AJ felt like she belonged with the women loitering around in the beautiful basement room at the library, but at the same time, she kept looking around for someone else to stand with.

She wasn’t sure why. She and Kelli had more in common now than ever before, and AJ sometimes loaded up Asher in his stroller, took the ferry to Bell Island, and went walking with Kelli, Daphne, and Parker before the sun got too high in the sky.

Then, she’d board another ferry and go see her sister and her dad on Pearl before coming back home. It could take almost the whole day, and then Asher would sleep. AJ could work on an article or searching for something freelance.

This summer, Matt’s daughter Lisa had come to stay with them, and honestly, AJ’s days seemed to be melting away like a candle that had been lit for too long. She wasn’t sure why she felt like a crooked piece in a puzzle, especially since she didn’t even know what picture she was trying to make.

“Ladies,” Tessa said into a mic. “If you could find a seat, please. We’re about to begin.”

The conversation seemed to swell up, not down, and a mass of legs moved women closer to the chairs. AJ found herself flowing with them, talking to a woman who lived only one block over from her.

“Great to meet you, Kate,” she said as she followed Alice and Kelli down the row. She ended up getting the last seat, and she wasn’t sure why, but that made her feel like an outsider. Of course, Robin had gotten them as close to the front of the room as possible, and that meant the second row. Five feet across the aisle, more women filled the seats, and AJ certainly wasn’t on the outside of anything.

“First, I want to thank the Library Director, Bonnie Lancomb. She’s the one who wanted programming for adults, and I’m going to do my best to bring it to you.”

“Woo!” someone yelled from down the row where AJ sat, and she leaned forward and peered down to see who it was. Alice, of course. The woman didn’t mind eyes on her, and she did want to champion everyone.

“I’m Tessa Simmons, and I couldn’t have done any of this without my fearless assistant—and the brains behind the bicycle book club—Mandie Grover.” She started clapping, and that got the room doing the same thing.

Mandie smiled and smiled, her face growing redder and redder by the moment. She finally ducked out of the way, and Tessa stepped back to the mic. “We want to thank all of you for signing up for this book club, and I hope we’ll have a lively discussion tonight. We want to thank David at Soda Sensation for our refreshments, and I’m excited to kick off our first library-sponsored book club with The Echoes of Avalon Park!”

The crowd erupted into applause and cheering again, and the vibe here made AJ’s pulse skip several beats. She

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