23
The library
Joan’s happiness left Grace feeling bittersweet. On the one hand, Grace was delighted because Jason and Joan made such a great couple, but on the other she was disappointed because they were rarely apart, and in many ways she felt like she had lost her best friend. Jason would show up at the café in time for Joan’s lunch break, then take her wheeling off along the promenade for a picnic on the beach, or fish’n’chips out of one of the takeaways farther along the strip. Grace would stay behind with Belinda to deal with the lunchtime rush, feeling both happy for her best friend but frustrated at the same time.
‘It’ll be your turn soon,’ Joan’s mum would say, patting her on the arm, although Grace felt further away from any kind of life-defining relationship than ever.
* * *
