Grace takes Emily to the library, where they make some new friends.
Tags: First Meeting Trope, use of 'you' instead of Y/N, Fem! Reader, Mom! Grace, Single Mom! Reader, Post-Resi9.
Word Count: 959
Grace took the service ramp to the library’s front door. She walked slowly, careful not to rush Emily into a new experience she might not be ready for. Before her experience with Zeno, Grace never planned on becoming a mother, but when the opportunity arose to become Emily’s foster mother, she couldn’t bring herself to let the girl go. How could she? They were connected in a way few people would understand, and after the life she led, Emily hesitated to trust new people. They were a few months away from a formal adoption, and in the meantime, Grace bent over backward to make Emily’s new life as worthwhile as possible.
Little by little, she introduced Emily to new parts of the outside world. Today, they conquered the public library. Grace opened the glass front doors and ushered her inside, where a security guard immediately greeted them, then the service desks, and then two stories of books. A year ago, Grace might have spent hours combing the shelves for new books – things to occupy her overworked mind after a long week at the office– but now she directed Emily directly to the service desk.
The older woman behind the main counter wore a wool-knit sweater, a lanyard with a photo of her cat on it, and large, red-rimmed glasses that Grace admired. She glanced up from her computer monitor and smiled widely at the two girls. “Good afternoon, ladies, can I help you with something?”
Grace placed a hand on the back of Emily’s head, gently combing her fingers through the girl’s hair. “We’re picking up an order for Ashcroft.”
“Oh!” The Librarian clapped her hands together. “You must be Emily! Yes, we have your books behind the counter…” She turned away to retrieve them.
Emily leaned against Grace’s leg. “She’s loud.”
“She’s… Excited.” Grace said. “But hey, at least we’ll have new books to read this weekend. That’ll be fun, right?”
The librarian returned with a tote bag. “Now, did you know there’s a service to have these and audiobooks delivered directly to your home? If you're interested, I can write down the information.”
Grace paused to fetch her library card from her wallet. “Maybe.” She said. “Coming to the library gives us an excuse to get out of the house.”
The Librarian laughed. “I know what you mean…”
Behind them, the library’s doors open. A pair of footsteps came rushing across the carpeted floor and stopped a few inches behind Emily’s heel. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end, and against her better judgment, she turned on her heel to face whoever had just crowded her face.
“Whoa, are you blind?” A small voice asked.
“Jake,” A firmer, older voice scolded. “That’s not how we say hello.”
Grace turned around with the tote bag weighing down one hand. Her other reached for Emily’s. She found a boy, maybe a year or two younger than the girl at her side, and a whirlwind of a mother who definitely had her hands full. She sympathized immensely. “Yes, she is,” Grace said. “This is Emily.”
Emily took the cue and waved. “Hi.”
“Sorry,” Jake said first. “Do you want to play?”
“Uhm…” Emily looked toward Grace. Her answer was no, but she didn’t know how to say that without sounding mean.
Grace struggled to dole out that tough love, but Leon insisted it would help Emily in the long run, and in a situation like this, she had to agree. “We can probably stay for a minute. If it’s alright with your mom, I mean.”
Jake’s mom smiled politely and stepped around Grace to put her pile of books on the counter. “Sure, just let me return these.”
Five minutes later, Grace sat with you on a plush sofa while Jake and Emily sat in the middle of the jumbo-sized Legos. Jake had acquired a toy train from elsewhere in the toy area and was driving it through the opening of the tower that Emily was carefully building, piece by piece. Grace kept an ear out for Emily, but she had her body angled toward you, incapable of keeping her shoulders from laughing as you detailed a disaster story from Jake’s elementary school the week before.
“Wow,” she said when she caught her breath. “He sounds like so much fun.”
“He keeps things interesting, that’s for sure.” You said, throwing a glance in Jake’s direction. “I think that’s how he makes friends so easily. He definitely didn’t get that from me.”
“I appreciate it,” Grace said. “Emily’s had a hard time connecting with people, and I… I don’t think I’ve heard her talk this much to anyone besides me.”
You smiled. “She seems so sweet. Maybe she’ll be a good influence on him.”
The conversation lulled, the two of you watching your children lost in their imaginary world, until Jake sprinted across the room to collide with your knees. “Mom,” he whined. “I’m hungry.”
“Shoot, we were going to get lunch, weren’t we?” You checked the time on your phone. Then you looked back at Grace with a timid smile. “Would it be weird to ask for your number? They just got on so well, maybe we could meet up again-”
“No, no!” Grace frantically patted her pockets for her own phone. “I’d love to give you my number. I mean, we should definitely hang out again.”
The numbers swapped, you gathered up a few more books to take home for Jake before heading out. Jake made sure to tell Emily goodbye, too, surprising her with a hug that she awkwardly returned with a pat on his back.
On the way home, she admitted to Grace that she looked forward to playing with him again, too.
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