3.

 

As the door closes behind her, Belle rushes toward her desk, wishing to unburden her arms, yet upon seeing said desk void of it's usual clutter, she quickly remembers why and instead tosses her handbag upon the tall, black chair behind it. After a generous sip from her coffee which as always tasted of hazelnut with a splash of vanilla soy, she walks to the large window beside the door, draws aside the faded, green fabric blinds and flips the wooden sign hanging there to read OPEN. In doing so, she spies a bit of cobweb in the window frame's top right corner. Retrieving the broom from its resting spot beside the front door near the coat rack, she raises to her toes and clears it away, taking care to give the casement of the blinds a bit of a dusting while she was at it. Suddenly a loud rapping sound rattles the glass before her, causing a high pitched and utterly girlish shriek to escape her. In her shock, she manages to let loose the broom's handle as well, and it falls to the floor with a resounding clatter. Her green eyes, now widened by startlement quickly move to the window and take in the sight of the dark haired woman on the other side of the glass. The fair skinned, plump checked woman wearing bright red spectacles flashes a bright smile and lifts one hand in a wave, seemingly oblivious to having caused the librarian's current heart palpitation.  

After a deep breath in the attempt at calming herself, Belle scoops the broom from the floorboards, returns it to it's proper place, then moves to pull the library door wide before sidestepping to clear it's threshold. "You won't believe what I just saw!" Exclaims the woman as she guides her candy apple red wheelchair through the door frame without so much as a 'Hello' or 'Good morning' first. Belle blinks at the brunette then silently closes the door, knowing this to be her cue to simply wait for an answer without further inquiry. "A hot air balloon! You know what that means...Mr. Schultz is getting the Great Pumpkin ready for the festival." Belle inwardly groans, already knowing what is coming next. The exuberant young woman wheels herself further within the room and continues their one sided conversation. "Remember, you promised me...this would be THE year. No backing out this time. I don't care if you've got a fever of 300 degrees and sporting a full body cast...no excuses this time." 

Belle follows the woman then lightly perches atop the corner of her nice clean desk. Noting the woman's sudden pause, Belle assumes this to be the part where it's her turn to speak, and says simply. "To be fair, I DID have the flu last year. As in snot dripping, Rudolph nose, 3 sweater wearing flu." The woman sighs softly and nods, "OK, ok...last year was the real deal. You looked like death for a solid week, but the year before? And the year before that? And nearly every year since we were 16? Nope. Not this time Isabella Beauregard. You're my date in that cozy flying basket, like it or not. Say it aloud. No chickening out." Realizing defeat, Belle closes her eyes a moment, releases a long breath, and says softly, "Yes, Snow..." Snow arches a thin, black brow and says, "Yes Snow, what?" Belle cringes and adds in a voice just above audible, "Yes, Snow...I will be your date for the Great Pumpkin." Snow crosses her arms beneath her breasts and eyeballs her friend for a skeptical few seconds before flashing a brilliant smile and changing the subject. "James should be here any minute. He was on the phone when I left. Work stuff." 

Belle returns the smile, thankful to leave balloon talk behind. "I can't thank you two enough for doing this. I'm not entirely computer illiterate but when it comes to getting one up and running from a clean slate, I lack confidence." Snow grins and shakes her head. "No prob, you know that." It was true. Snow had started an internship at Apple just out of High School and they had been so impressed by her abilities they had actually put her through college with the stipulation that she sign a contract and agree to work for them once she graduated. It was an amazingly rare opportunity and also where she had met her present husband, James who worked in software engineering. The couple could not be more evenly matched. While at times their displays of affection bordered on nauseating,  she was truly happy for her dear friend and Snow deserved every moment of happiness that her relationship with James brought her. 

Snow says, "I'm gonna go peek at your modem and make sure all the little blinky blinky things are are flashing as they should. Be right back." before rolling into the next room. In Snow's absence, Belle ponders what it would be like...to share that sort of bond with someone. Not the Jane Austin sort of romance, though that did have it's own appeal, but to really KNOW someone as well as she knew herself. Snow and James were proof that love wasn't always just a fairy story, but what were the odds of there really being a proper match for each and every individual on the planet? At this Belle shakes her head, dismissing such notions then giving the dark,  polished wood of her desk top one final dusting before James showed up.

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